Turn This Old-School, 3-Ingredient Sandwich Into A Sweet-And-Tangy Grilled Cheese

Once a crucial component of sophisticated circles, the thing that differentiates tea sandwiches from other sandwich styles is twofold: their size and their fillings. Meant to be small, light bites to sate the appetite between meals, tea sandwich recipes abounded in historic cookbooks, detailing sweet and savory filling ideas along with how to cut and present them. "The Canadian Family Cook Book," published in 1914, suggests some particularly tasty and creative suggestions, such as honey and cream cheese.

In fact, this combo must have been popular, because it popped up again in a Woman's Day magazine issued in 1968, and it's really no wonder. The blend of honey and cream cheese tastes like a light, earthy bite of cheesecake, making these sandwiches one of the most delicious ways to use up leftover cream cheese. Though afternoon tea isn't as common anymore, there's nothing stopping you from using these flavors to inspire a warm, gooey grilled cheese sandwich.

Of course, it's best to griddle your bread to golden perfection on one side before assembling your sandwich, as the cream cheese will need to be softened separately to mix evenly with the honey. Crisping the bread separately protects the cream cheese and honey blend from melting after the sandwich is assembled, allowing you to enjoy the contrasting silky and crunchy textures.

Once relegated to the archives of old-school desserts (and snacks) no one makes anymore, slipping a delicious combination of cream cheese and honey between two pieces of warm, crisp bread may be the perfect way to modernize this particular style of tea sandwich, especially considering how easy the recipe is to customize. The simplest option for switching it up is to opt for different flavors of cream cheese, types of bread, and styles of honey. For instance, strawberry cream cheese blended with vanilla-infused honey on hearty, griddled oat bread could make a deliciously comforting snack or light breakfast.

Similarly, pineapple-infused cream cheese on a cinnamon swirl loaf with dark, earthy buckwheat honey could be the perfect appetizer or dessert at a barbecue. You're also not limited to solely sweet combinations, as jalapeño cream cheese with hot honey on slices of garlicky, pan-toasted bread might become your new favorite accompaniment for tomato basil soup. Garlic and onion cream cheese with a drizzle of wildflower honey on slices of potato bread would be perfect to pair with a bowl of dense, savory chili.

You're also not limited to just three ingredients. Fruit jam or preserves, chopped pickles, pickled jalapeño, or giardiniera, and other types of cheese are all fair game. Think plain cream cheese with peach butter, orange blossom honey, and a little Parmesan on lightly toasted white bread; or savory garden veggie cream cheese blended with giardiniera, buckwheat honey, and white cheddar on tangy sourdough.