If you are from here — and here is anywhere around Pittsburgh/Western Pennsylvania — you have experienced the cookie table. I have overdosed on the cookie table, and I bet you have, too.
Who doesn't salivate looking at cookies of all kinds, shapes and flavors waiting to be tasted? They are all homemade, mixed with expertise, sprinkled with tradition and baked with love.
Many cookie tables I've had the privilege of sampling have been cookies that are works of art, displayed with irresistible artistry. It is said that we eat first with our eyes so I have often made a glutton of myself before I ever bite into a cookie.
The cookie table is a wedding tradition at the wedding reception and has been an important part of receptions as far back as folks remember. A tradition in the Pittsburgh and Youngstown area but mainly unheard of in other less enlightened areas.
The inclusion of the cookie table is more widely known in the Italian communities, but it is obviously contagious because it is at most weddings in the area. Cookies do not discriminate. It no longer depends on nationality or ethnic background; it is an essential part of the reception. Research by the Arms Family Museum of Local History in Youngstown said the dominant cookie tables area is northeastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania.
I recall a neighbor whose son was marrying a girl from West Virginia where they had never heard of a cookie table. When my neighbor found out that they would dare to have a wedding reception without a cookie table she set out to make them a proper cookie table. She baked and baked, she packed and packed cookies in airtight containers and loaded her car to go to the wedding. She was convinced that without a cookie table they would not be truly, actually, completely, maybe not even legally married. She never mentioned how the cookies were received, but I have to think that they were thrilled. If someone shows up at the reception with a carload of cookies who wouldn't be happy?
The world record for the most cookies on the table was on Aug.11, 2019, in Monongahela, Pa., with 88,425 cookies. Wish I had been there.
Before the 1990s, cookie tables didn't show up in magazines and newspapers because it was something people always did in the area and didn't realize it was newsworthy. It would have been big news if there was no cookie table. For those one or two people reading this who don't know a lot about cookie tables, it is important to note that it does not take the place of a wedding cake.
Making cookies for the cookie table takes every aunt, cousin and friend to bake cookies and many have their own specialty and the cookies reflect the diversity with nut rolls, peanut butter blossoms, pizzelles, lady locks, nut cups, tiny little cheesecakes, sugar cookies and many more mouth-watering varieties. I always look for the cookies that look like little peaches, they are works of art and with a bit of peach jam as the pit, they are scrumptious. I don't really have a favorite so I have to keep tasting them all so I can decide which one I like best.
There doesn't seem to be a formula for how many cookies per guest so the bakers just keep on baking. Most cookie tables are complete with bags so the guests can take cookies home. I certainly take advantage of that because they are delicious even if I don't eat them at the reception. I was at one wedding that had a cookie room. Oh, honestly. It was decorated beautifully and had so many cookies that they should have provided us with a shopping bag to take cookies home with us.
Cookie tables are not just about tons of cookies. They are part of our history, our traditions and our memories. They are not just homemade confections; they are symbols of hospitality and generosity.
While looking at cookie tables on the web I found this site, The Wedding Cookie Table Community, that is devoted to the time-honored tradition of baking, assembling and sharing wedding cookie tables. It's an open forum where members can post and download recipes and photos, ask and answer questions, give and get advice.
I thought I found something new, but a lot of you were there ahead of me. I found 43 of my Facebook friends there. It made me feel good.
The Link LonkMay 12, 2021 at 05:25PM
https://ift.tt/33DLq8I
Louise Carroll: It's not a wedding without a cookie table - Ellwood City Ledger
https://ift.tt/2CmfU4u
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