Tea party faire

This past weekend our Crossroads Garden Club had a very nice Harvest Tea Party. We were celebrating the end of summer and we all had a very nice time, eating treats and sipping tea.

We started with Cranberry Scones with mock clotted cream, pumpkin butter and blackberry jam. I learned to make butter curls for this occasion.

I really enjoyed the bowl of fruit that was just plain berries. We were concerned that we needed a sauce or something and we didn't. The berries alone were fresh, sweet and made a menu item.

I made plenty of fresh scones from the recipe in the July/August issue of Newnan-Coweta Magazine. I thought they were good, but not quite as good as the ones made by Amelia Adams and her niece, Callie.

The truffles above were made from a Bakerella recipe with a couple of changes. The oreo/cream cheese truffles were coated with chocolate candy coating and I added lemon to a yellow cake mix and blended it with cream cheese frosting to make the lemon/cheesecake truffles.

The Caramel-glazed Pear Cake was from a Southern Living 2002 recipe. You can find it on their website, though they have two glazes listed, depending on which one you find when you click on the Internet link. I chose the one that had brown sugar and evaporated milk. I made it back in 2002 and I am now wondering why I have waited so long to make it again.

We also had brownie bites, made by Dianne and Lemon Teacakes that Sam brought. They were so much help for me since they came early to help me set up and stayed late to help with the clean up.

Our tea choices were Ceylon, Decaf Ginger Peach, Pumpkin Ginger Spice and Rooibois Rising Sun. I did serve cranberry lemonade and cold tea for those who preferred it.

The thing everyone really loved were the sugar rosettes that Angela made and brought. People LOVED them. They were very pretty and I had quite a few people ask for one to take home. They were a special added treat and I appreciate Angela for making those and also providing the tasty Rooibos tea.

Everyone seemed to have such a good time. I think I enjoyed it more than anyone and I'm convinced it is a perfect way to celebrate the end of summer.