mad hatter tea party

On a beautiful afternoon, the sun was shining, the birds were singing, the bugs were crawling, and the Mad Hatter had friends over for a tea party! Alice was there, fresh from her nap and wearing a pretty blue dress. The Queen graced us with her presence. The White Rabbit was very late, but joined the fun once she woke up and when the Dormouse arrived from work.

See, all day, the Mad Hatter had been preparing all kinds of wonderful treats for her tea party guests. They dined on donut holes, and fresh fruit. Cubes of cheese and pistachios. They played croquet (well, golf) and chess, that is, until the Mad Hatter stepped on the glass board and broke it in a million pieces.

On this very hot afternoon, cold drinks were a must. Although Alice was a bit freaked by the flowers imprisoned in ice cubes, guest passed up on the green iced tea in favor of pineapple limeade. A sweet summer punch that could have benefited from added club soda and/or ice cubes to cut down on the sweetness a bit.

Drink Me Pineapple Limeade
recipe source: Mom Magazine

1 12-ounce can frozen pineapple juice concentrate
1 6-ounce can frozen limeade concentrate
4 cups cold water
1 liter club soda, chilled
Ice cubes
Fresh cherries (optional)

In a large pitcher combine pineapple juice concentrate, limeade, and water. Chill for at least 30 minutes. To serve, transfer fruit juice mixture to pitchers; add club soda, ice cubes, and fresh cherries.

Our local pharmacy provided weirdly appropriate coconut covered mushroom candies that were a chewy contrast to the hard grape candies the Mad Hatter had made for the occasion.

After having had a couple of heart shaped egg salad sandwiches and diamond shaped cucumber sandwiches, guests looking for a sweet finish could grab a cookie just asking to be eaten. They did not make us grow taller, but they were a sweet treat to end this picnic. And the recipe could not be simpler! Three ingredients is all that's required for the cookie, which, by itself is no yummy treat. But add royal icing in girly colors, and you've got a sweet eat!

Eat Me Cookies
recipe adapted from: sweet pea's kitchen

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
Decorating sugar

In medium bowl, mix flour, 1 cup butter and the whipping cream. Divide dough into thirds and wrap each portion in plastic wrap. Refrigerate about 1 hour or until firm.
Heat oven to 375º degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll one-third of dough at a time 1/8 inch thick on lightly floured surface. (Keep remaining dough refrigerated until ready to roll.) Cut into desired shapes with 1 1/2-inch cookie cutters. Dip both sides of the cookies in decorating sugar.  Place on prepared baking sheet. Prick each cutout about 4 times.
Bake 7 to 9 minutes or just until set but not brown. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Decorate with Royal Icing.

We were lucky enough to be visited by the Caterpillar, who could not resist making sure the orange marmalade jar was truly empty. It was, and the caterpillar was returned to the forest floor, well, lawn, to find a mushroom to sit upon.

After the ice melted and the drinks grew warm, the snacks were gone, and the creepy crawlies claimed the crumbs. The guests departed, and the mad hatter took off her hat, as she was very warm, but pleased by the outcome of her mad tea party bash.

A great thank you to Vanessa of A Franciful Twist who put this virtual Mad Tea Party together, and to guest of honour Sweetapolita for spreading the word allowing me to partake in this year's event. To virtually experience other Mad Tea Parties, visit Vanessa's blog to see what other party guests were up to!