Kentucky Derby Benedictine Sandwiches (Printable)

Refreshing cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches seasoned with dill and chives for light, elegant bites.

# What You Need:

→ Spread

01 - 1 large English cucumber, peeled and seeded
02 - 8 oz cream cheese, softened
03 - 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
04 - 2 tablespoons fresh dill, finely chopped
05 - 1 tablespoon fresh chives, finely chopped
06 - 1 tablespoon onion, grated
07 - 1/4 teaspoon salt
08 - 1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
09 - 2-3 drops green food coloring, optional

→ Sandwich Assembly

10 - 12 slices white sandwich bread, very fresh, crusts removed
11 - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, optional

# Directions:

01 - Grate the cucumber using a fine grater. Place the grated cucumber in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
02 - In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, mayonnaise, dill, chives, grated onion, salt, and white pepper. Mix until smooth.
03 - Stir in the drained cucumber and mix until well blended. Add green food coloring if desired and mix until the color is uniform.
04 - If using, lightly butter one side of each slice of bread to prevent sogginess.
05 - Spread a generous layer of the Benedictine mixture on half of the bread slices. Top with the remaining bread slices to form sandwiches.
06 - Gently press and trim crusts if needed. Cut each sandwich into quarters as rectangles or triangles.
07 - Arrange on a platter and serve immediately, or cover with a damp paper towel and plastic wrap and refrigerate until serving.

# Expert Suggestions:

01 -
  • They come together in 15 minutes and taste like you've been in the kitchen all morning.
  • The pale green color is naturally elegant, requiring no fancy techniques or special equipment.
  • Make the spread ahead and assemble right before guests arrive, leaving you calm instead of frazzled.
02 -
  • The single most important step is squeezing that cucumber until it feels almost impossibly dry; any leftover moisture will seep into the bread and ruin the texture within an hour.
  • Use truly fresh bread that hasn't been sitting in a plastic bag for days—stale bread crumbles when you trim it, and crumbs all over your platter look sloppy no matter how elegant the filling is.
03 -
  • Use a microplane grater for the onion and cucumber if you have one; it produces finer, more evenly distributed pieces than a box grater.
  • If your cream cheese is cold, microwave it in 10-second bursts until it's genuinely soft, not just soft-looking; this prevents lumps in the final spread.
Return