Wedding Cookie Table Recipes
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pittsburgh catholic readers share their favorites!
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In Pittsburgh, wedding receptions mean cookie tables! The tradition of the Pittsburgh Cookie Table is rumored to have begun during the Great Depression, when many couples could not afford a wedding cake, so loved ones pitched in to bake cookies. Today, the Pittsburgh Cookie Table remains a sweet reminder to the bride and groom of how much they are loved by their family and friends.
Pittsburgh Catholic readers share some of their favorite cookie table recipes below. Try them for your next Pittsburgh Cookie Table!
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Nana's biscotti recipe
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Nina Dongilli, parishioner at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, shares her recipe for Italian Biscotti, which her family enjoys in the morning with an expresso or after dinner with a glass of wine.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup softened butter
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. almond extract
- 1 tsp. anise extract (optimal)
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup slivered almonds (or any chopped nut)
- 3 tsp. baking powder
- Optimal: chocolate chips or dried fruits
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Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Cream butter, sugar and eggs. Add extracts.
- Mix in flour, slivered almonds, and baking powder. Add add chocolate chips or dried fruits, if desired.
- Divide dough and shape into 2 logs, about 1½ inches tall.
- Bake each log on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper for 30 minutes.
- Allow log to cool. Cut into diagonal slices and toast in oven for about 5 minutes on each side.
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sugar cookies
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Coleen Sarosi, a parishioner at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, makes these cookies for all her family’s weddings. She even drove cookies to Florida for her sister-in-law’s wedding, introducing the Pittsburgh cookie table southerners who had never seen it before.
Cookie Ingredients:
- 1 cup butter
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp. almond extract
- 1 egg
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1 tsp. cream of tartar
- 1 tsp. baking soda
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To make the cookies:
- Soften butter. Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and extracts. Mix thoroughly.
- In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients, then add them to the wet ingredients. Refrigerate dough about an hour.
- Take a chunk of the dough and roll it thin on a floured pastry cloth. Use your favorite cookie cutter to cut into shapes.
- Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 3-4 min or until golden brown. Let cool on rack.
Icing ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- A few tablespoons of milk
- Food coloring
To make the icing:
- Place about 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar in the bowl and slowly add milk stirring until the icing is spreadable but not too runny.
- Transfer to smaller bowls and add various food colors.
- Apply icing to cookies with the back of a teaspoon. Allow to dry for several hours before traying.
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Esther Dipasquale's Pizzelles
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Esther DiPasquale shares her favorite pizzelle recipe.
Ingredients:
- 10 eggs
- 1 cup butter flavored Crisco shortening
- 1 cup margarine
- 1 tablespoon anise seed (optional)
- 1 tablespoon anise extract
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 2 cups sugar
- 5 cups flour ( more or less to desired thickness)
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Steps:
1. Melt Crisco and margarine together- cool2. Beat eggs.
3. Add sugar, flavorings, melted shortening, and seeds
4. Add flour gradually to make a thick or thin batter as desired.
5. Drop rounded teaspoon of batter on to preheated, greased pizzelle iron.
6. Cook pizzelles to desired golden color. Yields approximately 12 dozen.
Hint: do not bake on a damp or humid day, as pizzelles may not crisp as they cool.
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