The Wedding Cookie Table: A Pittsburgh Tradition

/ Jodi

The Wedding Cookie Table - It's a Burgh Thing

The Wedding Cookie Table – It’s a Burgh Thing

The Wedding Cookie Table:  A Pittsburgh Tradition.

As some of my faithful friends here at The Creative Life in Between know, I’ve been baking a few cookies for the past month for my son and new daughter-in-law’s wedding.

The wedding was this weekend, so I thought I would share a couple of quick shots we captured of the finished Wedding Cookie Table since many of you asked to see as you saw the various recipes being shared.

I have to thank my other sweet daughter-in-law for helping bake several kinds of cookies (snickerdoodles, peanut butter blossoms, s’mores cookies, and chocolate dipped oreos!) as well as my friend, Tracy, for her generosity in baking the lady locks.  A special thank you to Liz’s mom and her cousin Kathy for baking an amazing variety of sweet breads with flavored butters that added just that special touch to our brunch wedding menu.  My favorite was the earl grey tea lavender bread!  Absolutely amazing!

If you would like to see the recipes for the variety of cookies I made, here is a list with links to the recipes:

  1. Jodi’s Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies
  2. Hershey Kiss Brownie Bites
  3. Pecan Tassies
  4. Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
  5. Pecan Sandies
  6. Carrot Cake Thumbprints
  7. Raspberry Dark Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
  8. Apricot Kolaches
  9. Buckeye Balls
  10. Lemon Crinkle Cookies
  11. Red Velvet White Chocolate Cookies
  12. Oreo Cookies & Cream Cookies

A Pittsburgh Wedding Cookie Table

A Pittsburgh Wedding Cookie Table

It seems that the Wedding Cookie Table is a bit of a regional tradition to our area.  In Pittsburgh, it’s a “burgh thing” to do.  No wedding is complete without a massive buffet of favorite cookies for the guests to enjoy before, during, and after the reception.  Our wedding “favor” for the guests was an empty box to fill with their favorites from our cookie table.

We could not be happier to welcome our sweet new daughter-in-law to our family.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

87 thoughts on “The Wedding Cookie Table: A Pittsburgh Tradition”

  5. We are still munching on some of those delectable tokens of love ……..you did an amazing job Jodi….and Colleen…….what a gift you both share……..you’ve made your guests feel so special to have shared such a spectacular table!😋😋😋😍😍😍😍

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  12. Wow! The cookie table is AWESOME!! It looks so wonderful and the cookies and breads looks so delicious! I imagine that was a BiG hit at the wedding reception. Congratulations to your son and his new wife!!

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  13. Thanks so much for sharing these photos Jodi, you know we were all dying to see this cookie buffet! What a wonderful “burgh” tradition, and the party favor box for guests to fill is so awesome! I appreciate the cookie list with links too, I know I drooled over and pinned all of them, but it’s nice to see them altogether, the names and the photos. The table is just stunning! Much happiness to you and yours!
    Jenna

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  14. My, oh my…
    As I’ve been reading your various cookie recipes you’ve been making and photographing along the way I lost track of just how many types of cookies you were baking. These shots of the cookie table are glorious. Not only is this one of the BEST cookie tables I’ve ever seen, but the variety of cookies is wonderful. My wife says I’ve never met a cookie I didn’t love meaning mainly, that I’ll eat store bought, and commercially packaged cookies with as much enthusiasm as I might for homemade cookies. My lovely wife exaggerates, of course…my passion for the homemade variety of cookie far surpasses my feelings for store bought. In other words, I probably would have made myself two or three boxes from your table and embarrassed everyone in the process. Splendid job, Jodi! And not just for the cookies. May the happy newlyweds live long and fruitful lives together filled with love and prosperity!

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  23. blockquote, div.yahoo_quoted { margin-left: 0 !important; border-left:1px #715FFA solid !important; padding-left:1ex !important; background-color:white !important; } Looks amazing.  I’m looking forward to talking to you and hearing details.  Maybe tomorrow?  I’ve been under the weather and am too tired now.  Love you lots!

    Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPad

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  24. I grew up in Pittsburgh and had never heard of a wedding cookie table. None of my PGH high school friends had cookie tables at their weddings (in the 70’s). However, I have a friend from Youngstown, OH who swears it’s an Italian tradition (hence the name Italian wedding cookies…) and says every Italian who gets married in YTown has a HUGE cookie table. She is Italian… 🙂 Where ever the tradition originates, your cookie table looked AMAZING! Thanks for sharing you recipes!

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  29. What an amazing tradition! It’s totally new for me. Looks so delicious 😋 what a special gift for guests 😍 saw your wedding photos on Facebook, they are beautiful!

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  30. Oh Jodi, that looks awesome! We don’t have the tradition of the cookie table here in St. Louis (although some people do a candy table, which is not nearly as good), but I wish we did. It must be so nice for the guests to browse along that table, selecting a few cookies to munch on as they enjoy the reception. Thanks for sharing this!

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  34. Hi Jodi! This is exactly the blog post I have been looking for! I was born and raised in Pittsburgh and want to share the tradition here in Virginia at our daughter’s May wedding. Do you have any tips on how far in advance I can start baking and freezing? Which recipes freeze best and which do not? How best to store until the big day? Any advice is appreciated…thank you

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    • Hi Sally! How nice to hear from you – and how exciting that you want to take our Pittsburgh tradition to Virginia! Start a trend there!! I started baking about 3-4 weeks in advance. I always freeze my cookies as soon as they cool and I swear it locks in the freshness. I like to freeze them in ziploc gallon bags. If there are something that needs to “set” first. Flash freeze on a cookie sheet, then once frozen, fill the bag. Some need layered so I’ve used boxes and foil and parchment to layer. I’ve also used plastic airtight containers. Remember everybody really loves a good chocolate chip. I have a great recipe on the blog if you search. There are so many choices, but if you want recipes to some of mine, simply type cookie in the search bar, and you will find many I’ve made. They all freeze well. If you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to reach out. I wish you a wonderful wedding. Remember to plan ahead and allow yourself to enjoy the day and the week up to the day. Do all the pampering stuff and enjoy – it will go so fast! Happy New Year!

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    • Hi – Glad you enjoyed. I must say I do not know what a “wedding breakfast” is. Can you enlighten me?

      For us, it is a buffet of cookies served before, during and after the reception – along with cake! 🙂 and we always supply take-home boxes or containers for people to take some home.

      In our area, weddings are all about the cookies! 🙂 LOL!

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      • “wedding breakfast” — the first meal after you are married. I guess it’s a British-English name, not US-English! So at our wedding reception, the wedding breakfast was a buffet meal. Most of the more recent weddings I’ve been to, it’s a full on 3 course meal with table service. Plus another full meal in the evening (most weddings are early afternoon/late lunch).

        I think we need cookie buffets over here in England! 🙂

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    • I did freeze them. I always freeze cookies – I actually think they taste better after freezing. I started about a month before the wedding and enjoyed every second of it! The best part was the look on people’s faces when they ate them and got to pack a box to take home! 🙂

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  38. SO! I’m opening up my photo studio and for an opening party I will bake and freeze (for the first time! freeze, not bake!) cookies! So… I’m afraid I won’t have “time” to share, but we will see! I try your recipes cause you said they can be frozen! Also, a question about – taking out of the freezer – one day before? Or more!?

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    • Ilze – they defrost so quickly you can take them out of the freezer 10-15 minutes before you serve. My family eats them straight out of the freezer :). You can’t go wrong!! Good luck!!

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  39. I’m from Pittsburgh! Had hundreds of cookies at my wedding as well a million years ago!

    Living in Northern Western Pennsylvania now in my childhood home which I purchased from my siblings. I’m here just for the summer and then head to our home in Arizona!

    Found your blog through Explore Newness!

    Looks like it was a wonderful wedding!

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  40. I’m from a neighboring county in Southwest PA. People from other areas of PA and 49 states have little idea of what a Cookie Table is. This is always a highlight.
    How many cookies per person do you plan?
    Nawni

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  41. Hi there! I love your display! We are located in Vermont and just starting to do cookie tables for Weddings. Would you be able to tell me where you got your trays?

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