If you're looking for tea party ideas and recipes for your next book club, birthday party, or picnic, you might like these simple ideas. And, you definitely are going want to try this orange scone recipe–my favorite part is the 3 ingredient champagne glaze!
I've been really into watching Downton Abbey, have you seen it? I confess to catching on late and then bin-watching season after season. Before I watched the finale episode, I set up a simple tea party so I could really make a moment out if it.
Setting Up Your Tea Party
Are you wondering where to get fancy tea cups? Well, last Sunday I spent the afternoon browsing local thrift shops in hopes of collecting a few vintage tea cups. I was pleasantly surprised how many I found! I had to limit myself to only picking up what I really needed. But they are just so unique and pretty. This one was my favorite.
I set up a "tea and treats" station where guests (myself and a few friends) can help themselves during the commercials. If you're looking for tea party ideas, I love the idea of a self-serve approach. I set themed cookies on top of gold and brass candlesticks I picked up at the thrift store as well. I also made a batch of orange scones with champagne glaze (recipe below).
Incorporating store bought cookies and one homemade recipe kept things simple. Just how I like them to be.
Baking Fresh Scones
If you think baking scones it going to be time consuming or tricky, don't worry. I had never made scones before and was pleasantly surprised how simple it was. The entire process took about 35 minutes. First, I researched a few recipes and then made my own adaptations because I had a vision of using champagne as an ingredient.
Here's what the dough looked like once I rolled it out and began cutting it into triangles.
TIP: You can make these as big or small as you'd like. Next time I would cut them smaller and make more petite scones.
This was what they looked like, baked and glazed. So delicious with a cup of hot tea. I say whip up some of these scones now and enjoy them with your favorite show or book. Or, package them up to take along on a tea party inspired picnic!
Orange Scones with Champagne Glaze
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup sugar
- zest of one large orange
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter chilled
- ½ cup Sour Cream
- 1 large egg
For the Glaze
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons champagne chilled
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, combine sugar and orange zest
- Add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix
- Grate butter into flour mixture on the large holes of a grater; use your fingers to work in the butter until the mixture until combined.
- In a small bowl, whisk the sour cream and egg until smooth.
- Stir sour cream mixture into flour mixture until large dough clumps form. Use your hands to press the dough against the bowl into a ball. The dough will be sticky first, but as you press, the dough will come together.
- Place on a lightly floured surface and pat into rectangle about ¾-inch thick. Use a sharp knife to cut into 8-12 triangles; depending on your desired scone size. Then, place them on the baking sheet, about 1 inch apart.
- Bake until golden, about 15 minutes
- Cool for 10 minutes and prepare the glaze while you wait
For the glaze
- In a medium bowl, prepare the glaze by mixing together the melted butter, powdered sugar, and champagne. Whisk until very smooth. Drizzle (I used a ladle) the glaze over the scones and then allow the glaze to harden. Once hard, you can stack the scones on a platter or store them in an airtight container for later.
Notes
Looking for more tea party ideas? These might come in handy:
Jordan says
I absolutely love the look of this tea party, I have got to have one. Maybe even have everyone dress in their Sunday best!