Cookie tables rule at area weddings

By Lisa Losasso

As we all know, with the springtime come wedding invitations and weddings, in Youngstown, mean cookie tables which are definitely an area phenomenon.

If you don’t believe me, look it up yourself.

It’s right there on Wikipedia, in black and white, “A cookie table is a wedding tradition said to originate in Youngstown, Ohio where in place of or in addition to a wedding cake, a large table with different cookies is presented to guests at the wedding reception.”

There you have it … proof positive. (At least it’s proof that somebody thinks it’s true, and nobody has contested it. That’s how Wikipedia works.)

Some of the most popular cookies include “Buckeyes,” “clothespin” cookies, “snowballs,” “Peanut Butter Blossoms,” “kolache,” and “pizzelles.”

All of these wonderful cookies, and more, are usually prepared by family and friends well in advance of the wedding reception. The layout and presentation of the cookie table is just as important as the presentation of the wedding cake.

At my mother and father’s wedding reception, over 50 years ago, it was traditional to fill clothes baskets with cookies which were carried around to the guests.

Shely Sarna of North Jackson remembers attending wedding receptions with her parents when she was growing up. “There was always a cookie table,” she said. “I always enjoyed that more than the cake.”

Sarna and her husband, Wayne, were married 20 years ago. “At our wedding reception people were lined up at the cookie table waiting for the green light,” she said.

Last June, Sarna’s son, Tommy, married Ashley Johnson at her parents’ home in Ranson, W.Va. In planning for the wedding reception, the bride’s family mentioned a “groom’s cake,” which is one of their area traditions.

When Sarna and her son mentioned the cookie table, the bride’s family had never heard of a cookie table. “They looked at me like I had two heads,” said Sarna.

Having never heard of a “groom’s cake” and knowing nothing about the tradition, Tommy decided he would rather have a cookie table.

Between Sarna, her mother-in-law, aunt and two friends 600 cookies were baked. “It’s your own little community, contributing,” she said. “That’s what makes it so special.”

Baking 600 cookies in three days, although quite a task, wasn’t necessarily the difficult part. The real challenge was transporting herself, two passengers, luggage and a trunk load of cookies, carefully packed in sealed plastic containers, safely from Ohio to West Virginia.

Having only one 6-foot-long table to accommodate a mountain of cookies, the Sarnas loaded it up and stored extras under the table, allowing the table to be refilled as needed.

Buckeyes

16 ounces (approx.) confectioners’ sugar

1‚Ñ2 cup butter, softened

11‚Ñ4 cups creamy or chunky peanut butter

3‚Ñ4 pound semisweet dipping chocolate (approx., available at cake decorating supply stores)

In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer, combine about three-fourths of the sugar with butter and peanut butter. Beat until mixture is well blended. At this point, you will probably have to add a little more sugar. Generally, you will use seven-eights of a box of sugar. You want the mixture to roll into balls without sticking to your hands, but you don’t want it to be too dry.

Roll mixture into three-quarter-inch balls and place balls on waxed paper-lined cookie sheets. Freeze balls until well chilled.

In the top of a double boiler over hot water, melt chocolate. Stick a toothpick in the center of a frozen peanut butter ball and dip in warm chocolate so that all but top of the ball is covered. Let excess chocolate drip back into pan. Place ball on waxed paper-lined cookie sheets. Remove toothpick. Repeat until all peanut butter balls have been dipped.

After the peanut butter balls come to room temperature, you can pinch the toothpick hoes closed with your fingers and smooth the top. Store in airtight containers in a cool place.

Recipe courtesy of Sheli Sarna.

Snowballs

1 cup butter or margarine, softened

1‚Ñ2 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

23‚Ñ4 cups all-purpose flour

1‚Ñ4 teaspoon salt

3‚Ñ4 cup finely chopped finely chopped nuts

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix thoroughly butter, sugar and vanilla. Work in flour, salt and nuts until dough holds together. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place on ungreased baking sheet.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until set but not brown. While warm, roll in confectioners’ sugar. Cool. Roll in sugar again.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Recipe courtesy of Sheli Sarna.

Ruth Sarna’s Little Kolachi

1 pound butter

4 cups all-purpose flour

4 beaten eggs

4 teaspoons baking powder

3 tablespoons sour cream

Put flour in bowl, blend in butter as for pie crust. Add baking powder, beaten eggs, and last 3 tablespoons sour cream.

Roll dough into little balls. Then roll these balls in powdered sugar (generously).

Put in favorite filling and roll up shape like a crescent roll. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Remove from pan immediately.

Clothespin Cookies and Filling

Take three pieces of thawed puff pastry dough that have thawed and cut each one in half, so that you have a small square that you are rolling out at one time. Keep the remaining pieces in the refrigerator to keep chilled.

Roll the square to 6 inches on one side by however long you can roll it out and still have a thickness of 1‚Ñ8 inch. Usually a small square will roll out to about 6 inches by 12 to 15 inches. Once you have the dough rolled out, with a pizza cutter, cut strips one-inch wide across the short side of the dough so that you have strips that are one-inch by six-inches long.

Take each strip and wrap on a dowel rod (wooden preferred, see note below). The strip should overlap the previous lap half way to prevent spces when baking. The strip should be wrapped snut, not loose, but do not stretch dough.

When you get to the end of the strip, dip your finger into some water (have a small margarine bowl full of water sitting beside your work area). Wet the bottom of the last part of the strip to be wrapped, and seal this end to the wrapped section of the dough. This will prevent the ends from opening up when baking.

If you are using the long dowel rods (12-inches), skip a space and wrap another strip. Do this until you cannot fit anymore on the rod. You should be able to wrap 3 to 4 cookies on each rod. Place rods on cookie sheets and bake at 400 degrees for 15-18 minutes until lightly browned. On a normal cookie sheet you should be able to get six to eight rods per sheet. Let cookies cool for about 5 to 10-minutes before trying to take of the rods. Take the cookies off of the rods while they are still warm, this is easier to release them from the rod. Put your hand around the cookie and gently twist, then pull off of the rod. Do not just pull the cookie or you might have the cookie come apart or break. Lett cookies cool completely before filling.

Filling for clothespin cookies: Cream together three-quarter of a can of vanilla pudding (12-ounce), 2 tablespoons of any flavor that you like to use, and 1 and one-half cup granulated sugar. Then add one and three-quarter cup shortening and one 7-ounce jar of marshmallow crème. Beat together several minutes until fluffy. This filling tastes exactly like the filling that you cook with milk and flour, and will hold up better without separating or curding.

Note about wooden dowel rods: Wooden dowel rods are the most popular in using for clothespin cookies. You should not buy dowel rods from a lumber yard or hardware store. The rods in the lumber yards are treated with chemicals and are usually a cheap wood that when baked with will make the dough taste like the wood. To prepare your rods for baking, you should first wash them in warm soapy water and rinse well. Then lay out to dry. If you need to use them right away you can dry them in the oven on a low temperature. The very first time that you use the rods put some shortening on them, after the first time the rods will be seasoned from the grease in the dough. When you’re done using the rods, wipe them off with a damp cloth and store in a bag in the bottom drawer of your refrigerator or put in the freezer. If you do not store the rods in the refrigerator or the freezer the grease will become rancid and whatever the rods smell like is what the cookies will taste like when baked.

Recipe from Sugar Showcase, Raccoon Rd., Youngstown.

Pizelles

6 eggs

31‚Ñ2 cup flour

11‚Ñ2 cup sugar

1 cup margarine

4 teaspoons baking powder

2 tablespoons vanilla or anise

Beat eggs, adding sugar gradually. Beat until smooth. Add cooled, melted margarine and vanilla (or anise). Add flour and baking powder. Mix all well with electric mixer. Dough will be a little runny to spoon on pizzelle iron. Let iron get hot. Cook for a few seconds.

Recipe contributed by Sylvia Kelemen, to “Flavors from the Seventh Ward: The Seventh Ward Blockwatches and Citizen’s Coalition,” published in 1997.