Tea time sweets and savories, Part Two

~Shortbread is a very traditional tea time cookie. Here is a recipe that makes my mouth water just thinking about it:

1 pound butter
6 cups flour
1 ½ cups sugar
½ cup cornstarch

Soften butter and place in a large bowl. Sift the dry ingredients over the butter and mix with your hands. Work in thoroughly, until nothing sticks to the side of the bowl. Pat the dough into pie plates at about ½ inch thick. Prick with a fork in a pattern of small wedges and bake at 350 degrees until the edges start to brown. Break on the pricked lines and sprinkle with sugar, if desired.

~These Carrot Muffins make for a dainty bite of something sweet:

1 ½ cups all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup grated carrots

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Sift together the dry ingredients and set aside. Combine the oil, sugar and eggs in a large bowl and mix by hand until blended. Gradually add the dry ingredients and mix well; stir in the grated carrots. Spoon the batter into greased muffin tins and bake 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

And, just for fun, here’s some Tea Etiquette I’ve picked up along the way:

~Tea should always be served sitting down. While a punch server is obliged to stand, a lady serving tea—even at a large event—should be seated before the tea tray with all the accouterments before her. (When my mother has a party, she positions either my sister or me at one end of the dining room table with the tea while the other stands at the opposite end before the punch bowl.)

~If hats and gloves are the order of the day, then ladies should keep their hats on for the duration of the party. But gloves should be removed before coming to the tea table. And, if you want to be a stickler, it’s never truly proper for the hostess to wear a hat.

~At a small tea, a well-appointed tray should contain the following: cups and saucers for everyone present, napkins and tea spoons, cream and sugar, and small slices of lemon. The hostess should ask each person in turn what they take in their tea and serve it as soon as it is poured.