Wedding Cookies: Ideas and Recipes From Around the World

When it comes to wedding sweets, we’ll always love a traditional wedding cake. But what about when you want to offer an alternative on the dessert table? Adding wedding cookies to the mix may be the perfect choice. 

“Cookies are a great addition to a wedding because they can range from simple and timeless, like a chocolate chip cookie, to sophisticated and personalized, such as custom sugar cookies,” says Marisa Battaglia, owner of B Sweet Designs. “Plus, the options are nearly endless, which offers a nice, wide variety for all sorts of preferences.”

Choosing to incorporate cookies into your big day means you get to display a variety of sweets. Plus, there’s the option to serve traditional types of cookies that give a nod to you and your partner’s heritage, or even to celebrate the location of your nuptials. From time-honored wedding cookies from around the world to custom iced cookies with intricate designs, there are so many options for including these single-serve treats.

Looking for inspiration to add cookies to your wedding dessert menu? Read on for the ultimate guide to wedding cookies. 

Wedding Cookies From Around the World

There’s certainly nothing wrong with opting for a timeless cookie such as chocolate chip, sugar, or snickerdoodle. But while those are childhood classics everyone loves, they may not hold as much meaning. “Modern couples are focusing more on the small details and looking to add personal touches that help share what makes their relationship special to their guests. What better way of doing that than with food,” says Nicole Fredrikson, owner of Cake by Nicole. “Couples are wanting to connect on a more personal level with guests, and sharing a part of their heritage through traditional cookies is a beautiful way to do that.”

If you’re planning to incorporate these types of cookies, there are a few options to consider. You can definitely check with a local bakery to see if they can accommodate your request. For many, it may mean taking a traditional cookie and putting a spin on it, such as matching the filling of cannoli to the wedding’s color palette or decorating alfajores with stunning edible flowers for a more modern look. “We have the ability to get creative and design them in a way that gives them a little bit more of a contemporary aesthetic,” says Battaglia.

If you truly want to stick to your roots, embracing time-honored traditions, it may be best to ask someone in the family to handle this sweet task. “When it comes to the more traditional Italian cookies, I find that it's really important to my couples and their families to have a family member make them since these recipes are usually passed down through several generations,” says Battaglia. “There are so much ancestral love and rich culture in these recipes, so they hold so much meaning for the families. I think that is so special.” 

Types of Wedding Cookies Around the World

Incorporating types of wedding cookies from around the world can be such a great way to celebrate who you and your partner truly are, along with introducing guests to a sweet they may have never had before. Need inspiration? Check out the most popular wedding cookies from around the world.

Italian Cuccidatti

Cuccidatti means little bracelet, and these traditional cookies are just as cute as their translation. Cookie dough is stuffed with a fig filling, baked, and then dipped in a glaze to make these traditional treats.

Italian Biscotti

Biscotti is a dry, crunchy cookie, but it’s still packed with flavor and charm. The dough is twice-baked for the crunch, and anything from raisins to chocolate chips or poppy seeds can be added to the mix. “We have designed beautiful biscotti, half-dipped in milk or white chocolate with a chocolate drizzle,” says Battaglia.

Italian Cannoli

Cannoli are a quintessential Italian treat. Pastry dough is formed into a tube shape, fried, and then filled with sweet cream. They’re classic and beautifully served plain, or cannoli can be dressed up by dipping them in chocolate, changing the cream color to match your wedding palette, or adding sprinkles or glitter. 

Danish Krumkake

These sweet, delicate cookies are super thin. They take a few steps, along with specific equipment to make, but the appearance makes it so worth it. A simple batter is prepped and then cooked on a Krumkake iron to leave a beautiful pattern on the exterior. Once cooked and still hot, the cookies are rolled up and left to harden. 

Mexican Wedding Cookies

According to Fredrikson, these are some of the most popular international wedding cookies. “These buttery cookies made with nuts, sugar, and flour are melt-in-your-mouth delicious. They can not only be found at Mexican wedding receptions, but they’re also enjoyed in many parts of the world under different names such as Russian tea cookies, Austrian Kipferl cookies, or Italian nutballs,” she says.

Grab the recipe to make your own Mexican Wedding Cookies.

Norwegian Kranskake

Kranskake is often on display in place of a wedding cake, but it is constructed from cookies. This traditional Norwegian sweet is made by stacking ring-shaped almond cookies with royal icing to make a stunning statement. 

French Madeleines

Madeleines are as charming as can be. These petite cookies are essentially a tiny, crisp sponge cake with a lovely airiness to them. They’re adorable on their own, baked in a shell-shaped mold, or they can be dressed up by dipping them in chocolate or sprinkled with edible flower petals. 

French Macarons

French macarons are a quintessentially French sweet. Two cookies with a crispy exterior and chewy interior are sandwiched with ganache or buttercream to make this treat. Plus, they can be decorated to match any color palette or aesthetic. 

Spanish Alfajores

Alfajores are a sandwich cookie traditionally enjoyed throughout Spain, along with areas of Central and South America. A light, crumbly cookie is sandwiched with dulce de leche for the perfect sweet pairing. 

Austrian Linzer Cookies

Linzer cookies are the most wonderfully buttery cookie that simply melts in your mouth. But they’re made that much better by sandwiching the cookies together with a fruit jam. The top cookie typically features an adorable cut-out in a heart or star shape with a dusting of powdered sugar on top. 

Polish Kolaczki

Kolaczkis are made with a cream cheese-based dough. The dough is rolled out, cut into squares, and then filled with a variety of fillings such as strawberry, apricot, or blueberry jam. Once filled, the cookies are folded and baked and then dusted with powdered sugar.

What to Know About Commissioning Custom Cookies

If you’re hoping to take a more modern approach to incorporate wedding cookies into your big day, a display of custom decorated cookies is a beautiful way to show off your style. “It’s a great way to put that customized stamp on the dessert table,” says Battaglia. 

Working with a bakery or cookie designer is the ideal way to achieve the professional cookie design of your dreams, and the sky is truly the limit for incorporating something special. 

“We never design the same cookie twice, so the design should really be as unique as the couple!” says Battaglia. She suggests incorporating elements such as custom-made monograms, family crests, or logos on cookies. Utilizing a couple’s invitations to embody the overall vibe of the big day is another great way to achieve a custom design. “We have even created cookies around a special member of the family, such as the couples' pups!” she adds. 

Fredrikson suggests sharing your wedding color swatches or even your Pinterest board with your baker before deciding on a cookie design. “Your baker can often come up with creative ideas to incorporate cookies into your wedding by looking at your inspiration pieces,” she says. Just be sure you have an idea of your budget going into it. 

What to Know About Ordering Sweets Online

If you’re adding cookies to the mix as a secondary sweet option to your wedding cake, or you’re hoping to let them stand on their own in a beautiful display, there is definitely the option to order them online. Placing an order for cookies through a trusted bakery and having them shipped in time for the big day is a great way to add these little sweets to your reception. Plus, as an added bonus, it requires very little effort, and it might help your budget along the way. Once the cookies arrive, it’s as simple as unwrapping the sweets and setting up a lovely display for guests to enjoy. 

Where to Order Cookies Online: 

• Milk Jar Cookies offers plenty of variety when it comes to cookie flavors, from classic chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin to white chocolate macadamia and chocolate peanut butter, and the cookies are baked in small batches, producing treats that look and taste homemade. The cookies come individually wrapped so you can use them as flavors, or unwrap them to create a table display. 
• Alma Kitchen offers soft, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread for a classic cookie offering, but these sweets come with a stunning twist. Shortbread cookies are dressed in glaze and then decorated with beautiful edible flower petals–perfect for a simple dessert table at a spring or summer wedding!
• Levain Bakery has been an NYC staple since 1995, dishing up gigantic, decadent cookies. You can order what Levain considers the perfect chocolate chip cookie with walnuts, or opt for a variety of flavors such as dark chocolate peanut butter or oatmeal raisin. 

6 Unique Ways to Serve Cookies at Your Wedding

How do you want to serve said cookies? Take look below for inspiration from real weddings.

Welcome Gifts

Set the tone for your event by including custom cookies in your welcome bag. This is a great way to honor your destination or a special loved one—like your cat or dog!

Escort Cards

Make this treat serve a double purpose by utilizing cookies as escort or place cards. That way, guests can take a bite while they await the first course or save it for a midnight snack or memento.

Dessert Table

Make a show of your special creations by doing just that—showing them off! We like the idea of organizing a table by type so guests can pick and choose what they'd like to try.

Table Décor

Everyone loves to snack at a wedding so why not turn your cookies into edible décor? We love the idea of displaying these in lieu of a standard breadbasket.

Wedding Cake

Go big with this idea by decorating your wedding cake with cookies! This can be done as a simple cake topper or all around the cake, as this couple did with macarons.

Wedding Favors

Much like the dessert table, you can display these treats for guests to get in a grab-and-go style or package each cookie in an individual bag or box for every guest. Bonus points for a custom sticker or logo!