Pear and Cream Cheese Tea Sandwiches

These little sandwiches were such a surprise the first time I tasted them, and they've become one of my all time favorite tea sandwiches.  This recipe was one of my first choices when asked to cater a garden party.  My friend, Joann Roach, who is a member of the Royal Ladies Tea Society to which I belong, said she combined a couple of other recipes to come up with this one.  I'm so pleased she was willing to share it with me.

I've always loved raisin bread, but had never heard of or thought to make a sandwich using fruit, much less pears.  Some people are turned off by the thought of the combination, but once they've tried these tiny sandwiches, they're hooked!

I've altered Joann's recipe a little bit as it called for toasted walnuts and I just don't care for walnuts, so I omit them.  Also, I use the spreadable cream cheese in the tub, so I don't have to wait for it to soften.

There are few ingredients and putting them together is quite simple.   The first step is to cut the crusts off the bread.  I make sure I do this two slices stacked together at a time to make sure they match perfectly so the sandwiches look their best. Then I lay them out on a bread board as if I've "opened" the sandwich.  Then I mix a little bit of cinnamon sugar in with some cream cheese and spread it on each slice of bread.  Next, I peel the pears, cut them in quarters and laying each piece on a long side, remove the core.  Then I thinly slice each quartered pear and place the slices on one of the slices of bread from each sandwich, overlapping them as I go.  I put the other slice on top, cream cheese side down.  Then I cut each sandwich twice, once vertically and once horizontally, to make four small square sandwiches.

I'm pretty sure you've never tasted anything like these bite-size sandwiches, but once you do, you'll want more!  Enjoy!

Pear and Cream Cheese Tea Sandwiches

1 pkg. Sun-Maid Raisin Bread (discard ends or save for another use)

1 (8 oz.) tub spreadable cream cheese

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 very ripe yellow Bartlett pears

Remove bread from package, discard ends, and place on a cutting board with 2 slices stacked together. Cut off crusts and separate slices as if you were opening a sandwich.  In a tiny bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon together.  Spread cream cheese mixture on each slice of bread.  Save any extra for another use.  Wash and peel pears; cut into quarters.  Laying each piece on a long side, cut out core.  Cut into thin slices.  Layer one side of each sandwich with pear slices overlapping as you apply them.  Place the other slice of bread from each sandwich on top of the pears, cream cheese side down.  Cut vertically and horizontally to create four tiny sandwich out of each full-size sandwich.