Weddingbee Blog

We named the Southern dishes on our dinner buffet after family members on my side, but we also wanted to think of a way to honor Mr. Dumpling’s family as well. We knew that we wanted a cookie buffet as our wedding favors for a few reasons. First, we could send our guests—-most of whom were from out-of-town—back to their hotel with a midnight snack. Secondly, we knew that if we had a variety of cookie choices that it would be a great place to incorporate his side of the family.

Mr. Dumpling emailed a few of the most important women in his life—Aunts, SIL, Mom, Grandma, and close friend—and asked them to participate by bringing their favorite cookie or treat to the rehearsal dinner (so I would have time to “make” the buffet). They all emailed back ahead of time to let me know what they were planning to bring so I could make the labels for our cookie buffet. This was actually a very easy project, and I’m happy to report that it didn’t enter into my “DIY screw up” file.

Here is the cookie buffet:

Here’s how to make your own cookie buffet—this would also be good for candy buffets.

The brown and pink damask table runners were made by Sister Dumpling and we used plain brown cheapo linens from a party rental place. I went to TJ Maxx and Marshall’s to find glass canisters/jars for the cookies, and I finally found some at a place called Home Goods. They were $24/each. They only had 6 jars and I needed 7, so I got a “special” one to put front and center—like it was totally supposed to be like that. Next, I went to Michaels and found a couple of spools of brown ribbon and wrapped it around each jar. Also found at Michaels were the cookie jar labels. I think they were part of the line Brides Magazine did for Michaels, and they were on clearance for $2 for a pack of 15. They were packaged as table number cards and came with instructions and templates to make them into any kind of sign you needed. I attached them with Scotch tape. Again, my DIY skills are lacking, but it looked legit.

I placed this sign at the head of the cookie buffet, letting our guests know that they should fill up a take-out box and enjoy their treat. I got this frame at the Dollar Store, along with the 8 others we used to make signs for our birdcage, place cards, bar signs, etc., the morning of the wedding. I like to do things at the very last minute. I used Word and a black & white laser jet printer to make the 5×7 card on the inside. Highly creative.

Don’t they all look delicious?

English Toffee- like, the BEST English toffee, ever. It’s little bits of heaven on your tongue.

These cookies were Mr. Dumpling’s favorite growing up and were a contender for favorite cookie of the night, made by MIL Dumpling.

My SIL is not a baker (but can make a mean pot of pho!), so she brought Oreos. I ate a handful every time I passed this jar because I was pregnant and baby Dumpling told me to.

Tita brought homemade chocolate chip cookies—a classic!

Auntie opted for fortune cookies because they are her favorite. She travels often and doesn’t have a whole lot of time for baking, but these were fantastic. I think they were lemon flavored.

Another aunt brought homemade oatmeal raisin cookies. Oatmeal raisin is my cookie of choice, but these were all gone before I could even have a bite. It’s cool though—when I was pregnant she mailed a whole hummingbird cake from Carlsbad to Vegas—like, through the mail. She’s awesome.

Grandma Dumpling was kind enough to order shortbread cookies from Hawaii, and let me just tell you right now: THESE ARE THE STUFF. I’ve tried to duplicate the recipe, but nothing comes close. You MUST order these cookies.

We used plain white Chinese takeout boxes, purchased from Smart & Final for $12 for 200. I ordered the pink labels from Online Labels. I previously ordered pink labels from Paper Source, but found that Online Labels were 1/4 of the price and offered a better selection. You can order any color in any size or shape—seriously, if you want purple 2 inch circular labels you can get them—-in any quantity. If you only want one sheet, you just order one sheet, and you aren’t stuck with an entire pack of random colored labels. Genius!

Some of the cookies were homemade, and some were not. It didn’t matter though; this idea was a HUGE hit with our guests, especially the ones that ate them the next morning trying to recover from their massive hangovers.