Calling All Cookies
In some states, the sweetest thing ain’t the cake – it’s the cookie
Receiving your wedding invitation is a call to your guests to start baking if you live in Eastern Ohio or Western Pennsylvania.
The first question guests ask is whether you’re planning a cookie table. If so, they offer to bake the delicacies they’re known for, such as kolachky, buckeyes, pizzelle or clothespin cookies (see sidebar).
“You don’t set out your everyday cookies; often these are cookies that aren’t seen in bakeries,” says Mary Logue, Youngstown, Ohio.
Go to a wedding and you may see rows of tables with multi-tiered displays of everyone’s best cookies. Even though the wedding cake is still essential and most families can purchase extravagant desserts, the cookie table is a well-loved institution.
Although the tradition is regional, the cookie table’s appeal has no boundaries. You can adopt this delightful and economical concept for your wedding or that of a loved one, no matter where you live.
The cookie table is really about community, baking and sharing. The effort brings almost as much pleasure as the results.
“The cookie table is a way to bring family and friends together preparing for the wedding,” says Jessica Trickett, with the Mahoning Valley Historical Society, Youngstown. The historical society recently had an exhibit on local wedding customs, including the cookie table.
To get the baking started you can appoint a cookie coordinator to assure variety. However, opinions vary on this.
“In our family my grandmother was the baker and everything revolved around her,” says Trickett.
In Elizabeth Nohra’s family it’s inappropriate to ask for a specific cookie unless someone has a specialty.
“In my family, which is a humongous, everyone has a cookie she’s known for,” says Nohra, formerly with the historical society.
Your friends can turn the baking into a social event, hosting a baking party to supply the cookie table. And don’t be shy about spreading the word, even to people who aren’t in the wedding party. You may be surprised at how eager they are to contribute.
When Logue’s son got married out of town last year she was pleased by friends who baked, even though they weren’t attending the wedding.
Once you’re well stocked with cookies, decide who will arrange them at the reception.
“If you get a caterer who knows how to display, these [cookie tables] are beautiful,” says Logue.
You can also ask your bridesmaids to do the arrangements and save money if your caterer charges a plating fee.
As part of the cookie table, Logue suggests providing small boxes or bags so guests can take cookies home. The cookie souvenir is perfectly acceptable, she says.
Bev Bennett, a veteran food writer and editor, is the author of "Dinner for Two: A Cookbook for Couples" and "30-Minute Meals for Dummies"
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