When you hear the word ‘Pittsburgh’, what comes to mind? Maybe a bridge or two, maybe a terrible towel waiving inside of Acrisure Stadium, or maybe even the Penguins hoisting a Stanley Cup! For many though, the iconic images of Pittsburgh, also include a wedding cookie table. The Pittsburgh Cookie Table is a beloved tradition, deeply rooted in Western Pennsylvania’s strong immigrant history. “Cookies connect us to each other. They connect us to our roots,” said Laura Magone, the founder of the Wedding Cookie Table Community FaceBook page. Magone, the granddaughter of Italian immigrants, says she considers herself the ‘unofficial cookie table lady.’ When she sat down with Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 inside of her parents Monongahela home, she shared the origin story of the tradition. Where the tradition actually began is still unclear, some say Youngstown others say closer to the city of Pittsburgh. Magone says the exact location of it’s origin is less important than what the tradition stands for as a whole, which is uniting people to their family roots. Magone says her grandparents were miners and mill workers and her father was a steelworker. Her mother, Wanda, was known as the “biscotti queen” and encouraged her to bake from a young age.”My mom encouraged me to bake. She was so nice that she would clean up after me. She didn’t even care if I cleaned up or not,” recalled Magone before adding, “She was happy to have me baking and cooking in the kitchen.” Magone now shares that passion for baking with over 300,000 bakers online through her Facebook group, The Wedding Cookie Table Community. “It is a really big community, for sure. And I think the cookies connect us to so many things,” she said.The tradition of cookie tables is a labor of love, often involving family recipes passed down through generations. “It’s just something I love to do, it’s so much fun,” said local baker, Ellen Jones, who happens to be the aunt of Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 reporter Lily Coleman. Jones, who affectionately is known by EE by all who love her, spends hours each day in the kitchen baking everything from coconut macaroons to classic iced thumbprints. She and her mother, Jeanne Williams, say its a labor of love. “I live in the kitchen, I love to cook. I love to bake, we have fun here,” said Jeanne Williams.Together, they have contributed hundreds of dozens of cookies to countless wedding tables across the country. Their repertoire includes 50 to 60 different kinds of cookies, some family recipes and others from fellow bakers in Magone’s Facebook group. For these bakers, cookies are more than just a treat; they are a way of showing love. “What I love best about baking is just the joy I get from doing cookies for other people,” explained Jones.For Jones and Williams, its a family tradition that they are hoping continues for many years to come. “I really hope that when I’m gone someday, that this tradition will continue,” said Jones. She added, “Our whole little gang, has to get with it.”
PITTSBURGH —
When you hear the word ‘Pittsburgh’, what comes to mind? Maybe a bridge or two, maybe a terrible towel waiving inside of Acrisure Stadium, or maybe even the Penguins hoisting a Stanley Cup!
For many though, the iconic images of Pittsburgh, also include a wedding cookie table.
The Pittsburgh Cookie Table is a beloved tradition, deeply rooted in Western Pennsylvania’s strong immigrant history.
“Cookies connect us to each other. They connect us to our roots,” said Laura Magone, the founder of the Wedding Cookie Table Community FaceBook page.
Magone, the granddaughter of Italian immigrants, says she considers herself the ‘unofficial cookie table lady.’
When she sat down with Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 inside of her parents Monongahela home, she shared the origin story of the tradition.
Where the tradition actually began is still unclear, some say Youngstown others say closer to the city of Pittsburgh. Magone says the exact location of it’s origin is less important than what the tradition stands for as a whole, which is uniting people to their family roots.
Magone says her grandparents were miners and mill workers and her father was a steelworker. Her mother, Wanda, was known as the “biscotti queen” and encouraged her to bake from a young age.
“My mom encouraged me to bake. She was so nice that she would clean up after me. She didn’t even care if I cleaned up or not,” recalled Magone before adding, “She was happy to have me baking and cooking in the kitchen.”
Magone now shares that passion for baking with over 300,000 bakers online through her Facebook group, The Wedding Cookie Table Community.
“It is a really big community, for sure. And I think the cookies connect us to so many things,” she said.
The tradition of cookie tables is a labor of love, often involving family recipes passed down through generations.
“It’s just something I love to do, it’s so much fun,” said local baker, Ellen Jones, who happens to be the aunt of Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 reporter Lily Coleman.
Jones, who affectionately is known by EE by all who love her, spends hours each day in the kitchen baking everything from coconut macaroons to classic iced thumbprints. She and her mother, Jeanne Williams, say its a labor of love.
“I live in the kitchen, I love to cook. I love to bake, we have fun here,” said Jeanne Williams.
Together, they have contributed hundreds of dozens of cookies to countless wedding tables across the country.
Their repertoire includes 50 to 60 different kinds of cookies, some family recipes and others from fellow bakers in Magone’s Facebook group.
For these bakers, cookies are more than just a treat; they are a way of showing love.
“What I love best about baking is just the joy I get from doing cookies for other people,” explained Jones.
For Jones and Williams, its a family tradition that they are hoping continues for many years to come.
“I really hope that when I’m gone someday, that this tradition will continue,” said Jones.
She added, “Our whole little gang, has to get with it.”