A Fanciful (Not Fussy) Tea Sandwich To Usher in Apple Season

When I was in my final years of high school, I often did my homework at a tea shop that was around the corner from my house—Remedy Tea. While one might expect a tea house to be overly kitsch, filled with lace and doilies, this spot was undeniably cool, with minimal décor, dim lighting, and soft, ambient music. In other words, it was the perfect setting for completing essays and math homework. The café offered an impressive selection of tea (including matcha, which was fairly novel at the time), but real reason I went was for the tea sandwiches. My favorite was comprised of swirly cinnamon bread, gobs of Nutella, and thinly sliced green apples. The crusts were removed, of course (this was a finger sandwich after all), and the edges of the sandwich were coated in butter and covered in crunchy nuts. Paired with a steaming pot of oolong tea, it was the perfect brain food. The tea shop closed years ago, but I’ve been making the sandwich at home ever since. These days, I’m writing recipe columns rather than English papers, but I’ll never be too old for a snack of apples and Nutella.

I’m not going to pretend this is a complicated sandwich: In fact, it hardly needs a recipe at all. Still, it’s so much more delicious than the sum of its parts. The key is to get the best, squishiest cinnamon bread you can find (I am a raisin-hater, but by all means, use cinnamon-raisin bread if that’s your thing). Crusts are an absolute no when it comes to a tea sandwich, and I recommend cutting them off before you begin assembling. This way no precious Nutella is wasted and you start out with neat, clean-cut rectangles. Smear each piece with a generous spoon of Nutella then top with apples—only the tart crunch of a Granny Smith will do. Look for the freshest, firmest, crispest ones you can find then slice them up nice and thin, then scatter a few chopped hazelnuts over the top before closing the sandwich.

The element that separates this sandwich from a children’s playtime treat is the crunchy, nut-crusted edges. Finely chopped hazelnuts fit the theme best, but walnuts or pecans will work fine too. Toast them in the oven until the kitchen is filled with a roasty aroma then let them cool in a wide, shallow bowl. Note that the nuts will continue cooking even after they’re pulled from the oven, so don’t allow them to become overly dark. Next, cut the assembled sandwiches into triangles and spread softened, salted butter generously over each exposed edge. Finally, press all three edges into the nuts until coated in a fine crumb. Serve immediately with tea (or coffee, I suppose), whenever a deadline is rapidly approaching or you need a sweet but satisfying pick-me-up.