Wedding Cake Cookies

Photo courtesy of Mother of The Bride

Wedding cake cookies? Why not? Stack your cookies to make pretty individual wedding cakes for your guests. Decorate with icing and some fondant flowers. Add some jam between layers just a like a real wedding cake. Is this a do it yourself project? It all depends on your level of competence doing cake (or in this case cookie) decorating. These cakes make a nice wedding favor for your guests to take home and enjoy. And remember, edible favors are among the favorite wedding favors with guests. 

Got Milk? The Perfect Cookie To Have With Your Milk!

Photo and recipe courtesy of BHG

 

Better Homes and Gardens offers the recipe for these Lemon-Rose Cookies and a cold glass of mild, perfect for an end of reception snack (and a non-alcoholic drink!) Nothing like a nice cold glass of milk! 

 

The cookies are tied with a piece of red licorice and decorated with a red candy heart! Perfect for post wedding sugar shock!

 

Consider taking a photo of all your guests milk in hand with their milk mustaches! You can always caption it "got milk?"

Dancing For Cookies? Who Knew?

We've all enjoyed eating those fabulous culinary treats known as Italian Wedding Cookies.  Lightly flavored with anise, the cookies are coated with white sugar--yum! Perfect for a wedding! Italians are not only geniuses in the kitchen with pasta and sauce but desserts as well.  For those who have never tasted Italian Wedding Cookies they have an anise flavoring, that is similar to licorice. If you've tried Anisette liqueur they are similar in taste but lighter. 

It seems the Italians have managed to combine these dessert favorites with an ingenious way to get men to dance--they've blended dancing with eating cookies. They actually have a dance at weddings called The Wedding Cookie Dance.

I don't know about your husband or boyfriend, but the promise of cookies would be a sure fire way to get mine out on the dance floor! Cookie Dances...who knew? I've been to weddings where people do 'The Chicken Dance'...but never a Cookie Dance.  Given a choice, a cookie dance sounds like the better option! 

For the uninitiated and non-Italian(like me), the Italian Wedding Cookie Dance is similar to a line dance. party-goers form a long queue, similar to a conga line.  All the guests follow the bride and groom as they dance around the reception hall over to a dessert table where there is a large tall tray of Italian Cookies specially stacked up to resemble a cake just for this dance.  Each guest joins the bride, groom and their families to enjoy a delectable Italian treat of Italian Wedding Cookies. 

Cookie monster would be delighted!  So even if you can only claim a drop of Italian blood borrow this fun tradition for your wedding! Head to your local Italian bakery to find the best Italian Wedding Cookies, (unless you are Italian and Grandma is still around and willing to bake her little heart out for you.)  The real challenge comes when you have to build the cake-shaped tower of cookies, kind of the Jenga of The Sweet Table!  But you can leave that to your caterer.  There's a reason you pay them the big bucks! 

Falling In Love With Cookies (or is that Tookies?)

Pastel cookies filled with buttercreme are one of the signature cookies, call cookie-wiches you can order from Tookies' Etsy Shop.  These aren't the only goodies you'll fall in love with if you visit their Etsy store, my problem was deciding which ones I wanted to feature!  I chose these because they were both pretty and looked yummy!

I suspect it's a good thing they don't list the calories in these beautiful goodies, but if you're looking for some pretty sweets for your wedding, who is counting calories anyway?  For one day you can just LIVE! 

If you love cookies of any kind visit their Etsy store and find your personal favorites to serve your guests to delight their tastebuds.  Perfect for your wedding reception or shower.  I love Tookies' Cookies!

Make Your Own Chocolate Covered Oreos

I was surfing the net for ways to make soap and this happened to be in the middle of a soap making page, I think it must be a sign I SHOULD have these cookies, don't you? Made with Double Stuff Oreos and candy molds they make pretty favors for weddings or showers, and not only that, they can be made ahead of time! The best kind of DIY project!  Use this link for the recipe and directions for decorating these cookies.

The link will also take you to a site with recipes for making great soaps, also pretty for wedding or shower favors.

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Bars for Sweet and Salty Favors

Recipe and Photo courtesy of Eliazbeth at http://guiltykitchen.com/

Now that you've fallen in love with the photo, here's the easy to follow recipe for these to die for bar desserts.  Perfect for your sweet table or to give as favors for your guests.  To quote Elizabeth at Guilty Kitchen as to why they are called Idle Hands Bars "idle hands are the Devil’s playground and the Devil definitely made me make these, because they are sinful. Eat your boring, chocolate heart out, Devil’s Food Cake!"  So chocolate and peanut butter lovers you owe Elizabeth a huge debt of gratitude for your new favorite dessert!

Idle Hand Bars

Base Layer

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/4 cup sugar

5 Tbsp. Cocoa

1 egg, beaten

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs

3/4 cup coarsely crushed pretzels

1. In double boiler (or a bowl resting over a pot of lightly simmering water), melt the first three ingredients.

2. While still over water, add egg and beat to combine (will thicken quite a bit here). Remove from heat and add crumbs and pretzels.

3. Press into an 8 x 8 cake pan. Set aside.

Middle Layer

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly.

2/3 cup powdered sugar

1 cup smooth, natural peanut butter (no salt added, reduce salt accordingly if using salted)

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1. Add peanut butter and butter together in small bowl.

2. Mix in sugar, salt and vanilla to form a thick paste.

3. Dump onto base layer and smooth over, patting down to make a flat, even layer.

Top (final) Layer

5 oz. Semi Sweet Choclate chips (or other fine chocolate)

1 Tbsp unsalted butter

Pink Himalayan salt (or other fine sea salt)

1. In double boiler (or microwave), melt butter and chocolate chips together. Stir until complete dissolved and smooth.

2. Pour over peanut butter layer and spread out evenly.

3. Cool in fridge for about 5 minutes (should still be slightly soft on top but not warm).

4. Sprinkle, lightly, with Himalayan salt. Return to fridge (or freezer, if you’re in a hurry like I was), and let cool completely to become hard.

5. Cut into small squares and don’t say I didn’t warn you….these things are addictive.

You can freeze these too, might make them last longer and would let your make them ahead of time for a wedding.

Butterflies To Decorate Your Cupcakes, Cookies or Wedding Cake

Thirteen 8" X 11" wafer paper sheets printed with 155 assorted butterfly designs in hues of blue and lavender,orange and pink, green and earth. Sizes range from 2" to 3" wide. Decorate cakes, cupcakes, cookies or any edible product with these beautiful butterflies.  Apply to buttercream, fondant or royal icing covered cakes/cookies/or cupcakes.  Wafer Paper is edible and is a starch based confection, made from potato starch, water and vegetable oil. All ink is food safe and edible. If you are making cookies, spread a thin layer of light corn syrup to the back of the paper and then apply to the cookie. To ensure a smooth finish, turn the cookie over, wafer paper side down, on a piece of parchment paper for approximately 30 minutes. To completely dry, turn the cookie design side up for 12 hours. You can add a 3 dimensional effect by adding small sugar pearls, dragees, sugar decorations or edible glitter. To adhere, just use a small dot of clear piping gel.  To adhere to cupcakes and cakes just use a dot of clear piping gels to hold the butterfly in place.  Information and photos courtesy of http://www.fancyflours.com/ where you can purchase these beautiful butterflies!  Butterflies All Hues in Set $46.00.