Tea and Time Lemon Bars
The best lemon bar recipe from Tea and Time
Tea is always so great to enjoy all by itself but isn’t it wonderful to have a little bit of a sweet treat during your tea time? I know for me it is! Make a batch of these yummy lemon bars and always have them on hand by wrapping the squares in saran wrap and freezing them. Anytime a teatime friend visits your home, (or even if you want to treat a special teatime all by yourself), you can take out a few of these lemon squares and defrost them on a plate as you prepare the tea. By the time your tea has brewed, poured and you are settled into a cozy place to begin wonderful conversations, your lemon bars will be ready to enjoy! Defrosted yet still very chilled makes these tasty treats even better!! Enjoy!
Ingredients
2 Sticks Butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 1/2 cups self-rising flour
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
6 Tbls lemon juice
Melt butter and mix with powdered sugar and 2 cups of flour. Press in a 9x13 inch pan. Bake 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees.
While the crust is baking, prepare the lemon filling. Beat eggs until fluffy, add sugar and mix well. Add remaining 1/2 cup flour, baking powder, and lemon juice. I have used fresh lemons but I found that using bottled lemon juice somehow tastes better and not so tart with this recipe. Mix well. Pour over cookie layer. I do this pretty much when it comes out of the oven. No need to let this cool first. Return pan to oven for 25 minutes or until set. Now you can let this cool completely before cutting them into small squares. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with your favorite cup of tea.
Bridesmaids Tea
Bridesmaids tea to celebrate your besties and their support and love for you on your wedding day
Brides spend months and months preparing and planning for their wedding day and they choose every detail very very carefully. From the stationery and flowers to the music and menu selections, every aspect of their special day is well thought out and has enormous meaning behind those decisions. This would include all the special people a bride selects to be surrounded by and a part of her bride tribe… her bridesmaids!
Photo by Du Castel Photography
Photo by Eric and Jamie Photography
A Bridesmaids Tea and such a special way to thank all of your besties for surrounding you with love and support and to witness you take that walk down the aisle. As a wedding planner, I have seen this tea celebrated in many different ways. Here a just a few ideas to think about when planning your Bridesmaids tea time!
Photo by Eric and Jamie Photography
Will you be my Bridesmaid?
A fun tea party is a perfect way to ask each of your best girls to be a part of your wedding day and serve as one of your bridesmaids. Fun gifts at each place setting and pretty stationery asking them to be a bridesmaid is a fun and exciting way to celebrate you as a bride and the girls having the honor to stand beside you!
Photo by Kelli and Daniel Taylor Photography
All the girls sat around this pretty and pink tea table and one by one, the bride-to-be told heartfelt stories of how she met each girl and how special each girl meant to her along with some fun memories shared throughout the years. This can get a bit emotional so maybe a gift of a fine linen handkerchief monogrammed with their initials placed on their chair would be a sweet and thoughtful touch.
Wedding Morning Tea
Another way my brides like to honor their bridesmaids is with a wedding morning breakfast tea, usually at the bride’s home. This particular wedding day began at the home of the bride for hair and make up and also to provide the opportunity for their beloved puppies to partake in the photographs without bringing them on site to the church or reception. So we invited all the girls early that morning and gathered in the dining room for breakfast casseroles, muffins, fruits and tea sandwiches and pastries. Hair and make up was all going on in other parts of the house and was a fabulous way to gather and prepare for the day ahead with everyone in one space on the most special of days.
A sweet Southern tradition for brides and her maids is a charm cake. Ribbons are placed within the cake holding charms for each of the girls. Singe girls will choose a certain color ribbon and will pull charms such as a wedding ring, indicating she will be the next to marry. Married girls will pull charms such as a baby, telling the good fortune that she will be next to have a baby, and so on. The bride , of course, will pull the white ribbon with a wedding ring, chapel or a bridal bouquet and she will hold the key with explanations to each charm to all the girls’ good fortunes within the cake as they pull them! What a “charming” way to start the day!
A bridesmaids tea is such a wonderful way to begin all the celebrations for your wedding day. Keep it simple and pretty with just cake a tea or add sandwiches and other tea treats and savories but keep in mind that the point of this tea is to thank your besties for standing by you on your most special of days and time to all be together. It all starts here! Enjoy!
Thank you to every fabulous vendor featured in this blog post… you are all the BEST!
Planning/Design | AK Brides
Gourmet Teas | Tea and Time
Photography | Eric and Jamie Photography
Kelli and Daniel Taylor Photography
Floral Design | Stems and Styles
Tea Tableware | Tea and Old Roses
Linens/Rentals | Decor to Adore
Stationery | Allison R Banks Designs
Charm Cake | Sweet Magnolia