Originally Posted by PhoenixAzul
Oh man, the cookie table is the best part of a Pittsburgh wedding. Typically, all the women in the families bake their best cookies, and bring them to the reception (or give them to the Mother o' the Bride a few days before). Then they're spread out on a table, with either little boxes or plates (some people just use their napkins...we're not posh!) and load up on all the different cookies. It's sort of a bonus favor. Apparently it's a sort of "family pride" thing. Most brides get a wee book with the recipe cards as well.
One wedding we went to this summer had 120 DOZEN (that's right, 1,440 cookies) cookies baked by the brides grandmother ALONE.
A bride on a wedding site I frequent used this description, framed, on her cookie table to break it down to the out-of-towners:
The Cookie Table
The cookie table is a Pittsburgh tradition attributed to the collaborative culinary efforts of many ethnic groups. Nobody knows the exact origin of the tradition; it may be Italian or Slovak or Polish or Croatian or Greek. The Scandinavians may get involved, and the Indians, too. The Germans do cookies, and so do the Irish. Certainly, the cookie table is an outward symbol of the support and love which the bride and groom receive from all of their friends and family, no matter what their heritage. In fact, it’s symbolic of what makes America great: a medley of cultures taking the best of each. In this case, it’s favorite family cookie recipes.
There may be no greater tribute to cross-cultural friends and marriages than a Pittsburgh cookie table.
- Adapted from “The Cookie Table: A Pittsburgh Tradition”, by Suzanne Martinson
And number two:
These cookies were all homemade by the mother of the bride, sisters, aunts, cousins and grandmothers. Extended family got involved, too. Friends - of everyone involved today - jumped into the mix. The cookie table truly is the gift of love.
[Bride] and [Groom] truly thank, from the bottom of their hearts, everyone involved in the production of this cookie table and in every aspect of this day. There is no way that we could ever adequately express our gratitude. So simply: Thank you.
And remember, in Pittsburgh, people don’t wonder, “How was the wedding?” They ask, “Were the cookies good?”
- Adapted from “The Cookie Table: A Pittsburgh Tradition”, by Suzanne Martinson
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