Hey Everyone! It must be wedding season. I know of several weddings coming up and have been invited to two, myself. In fact, I have been given the honor of attending one in September as honorary mother-of-the-bride. You don’t even know how excited and special this makes me feel. The bride is my “adopted daughter” which means that she is a very good friend of my older son, Cody, and she is the daughter that I never had but wish that I did. Cody had a group of friends in high school that were so very close, and they spent many a day and night at my home. They all became my kids and I wouldn’t have traded it for anything in the world. Marissa became one of my adopted daughters and we have remained close ever since. I knew that both of my sons were part of her wedding but was totally surprised when she asked my husband to walk her down the aisle and told me that I would be honorary mom. So sweet! I’m sure that I will be talking more about that wedding in days to come.
This past weekend I was honored to receive a bridal shower invitation for the fiancé of the son of my college roommate. Ali and I were best friends throughout college and shared a room during our senior year. She also invited another of our bff’s from good old Illinois College, Rena. I had not seen Rena in many, many years so it was a special day for the attendees as well as the bride. It was a very nice shower with delicious, simple food and decorations. This picture shows me (left), Ali (middle, because she is short, lol), and Rena (right).
We commented on the peculiar fact that all of us (and one other of our bff’s) have two sons and no daughters. Ali is the first one of us to have a son marry. Rena and I were anxiously curious about what the responsibilities are currently for the groom’s family. It seems that this has changed dramatically since we were all married back in the 1980’s.
So, anyway, I went to this shower for Matthew and Jacqui and then next weekend I am going to one for Marissa and Austin. This reminded me of a recipe that I definitely want to share with all of you. Wedding Cake Cookies not only remind you of the flavor of a beautiful wedding cake but are so pretty that they would be welcome at any bridal shower. I made mine all white this time, but they are easily personalized by the addition of color to the frosting and/or the sprinkles. The possibilities are pretty well endless. You could even add food coloring to the cookie dough if you would like. I used the sparkly white sugar sprinkles because I think that they look elegant. I am huuuuuuuuuge fan of anything sparkly. My boss can attest to this, much to his dismay. My office space looks like a unicorn sneezed a rainbow of glitter all over the place. I love the philosophy that you should leave a little sparkle wherever you go. So, these cookies speak to me. Not only are they soft, buttery and delicious with a nice almond flavor but they sparkle too. And, most importantly, they are super easy. With only a few ingredients you can make these beauties.
You will need 2 white cake mixes, vegetable or canola oil, eggs and almond flavoring or extract for the cookies. For the frosting you will need butter, powdered sugar, milk and almond flavoring. If you want the sprinkles you will need to find those. I used a store brand this time, but I really love the Wilton brand which are a little less crunchy and super sparkly.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line your baking sheet with parchment paper.
In the bowl of your stand mixer or deep bowl if you are using a hand mixer, add the cake mixes, oil, eggs and flavoring. Mix well until a very soft dough forms. At first it will seem that this is too sticky and soft. Let the dough sit on your counter for about 15 minutes and it will solidify enough to make nice mounds that hold their shape and not spread too much. These cookies are much better if they are thick and pillowy rather than flat. You can let the dough sit while you preheat your oven.
Drop the dough in 2 Tablespoon-sized mounds on your baking sheet. I get 12 on a cookie sheet.
Bake for 8 minutes or until they are just slightly browned around the edge. If you touch the middle of one, it should not indent too much but spring back a bit.
Remove them from the oven and leave on the cookie sheet for 2 or 3 minutes before removing to a parchment lined cooling rack or surface. I normally do not use cooling racks. I have a very large, very old, cutting board that I can fit all the cookies on. I prefer to use that, but you should use whatever is comfortable to you.
When the cookies are all baked and cooled, make the frosting. With a mixer, beat the softened butter for 2 or 3 minutes until fluffy. I prefer to use my whisk attachment for this, but beaters also work well. Just make sure that the butter is smooth with no solid chunks left. Add the powdered sugar in 1 cup increments. Add the almond flavoring after the first cup of powdered sugar. Add 2 teaspoons of milk after the third cup of sugar. Add more milk by teaspoons after the last cup of powdered sugar mixing well after each addition. As soon as you have the consistency that you want, stop adding the milk. I find that this varies widely from one day to the next. I suppose that it is affected by the weather and the brand of the ingredients.
You want the frosting to be fluffy and spreadable but solid enough to hold its shape and stay on the cookie. Frost the cookies with 1 – 2 Tablespoons of icing depending on how much you prefer.
Add the sprinkles immediately, before the frosting begins to dry. Leave the cookies out for an hour or so to give the frosting time to set up.
Serve these pretty morsels with a nice cold glass of milk. I actually won a set of these sweet little purple glasses at the shower last weekend. I just had to display one with my cookies. Share them at a bridal or baby shower, at a potluck, or even with co-workers. Everyone loves them! Be prepared to also share the recipe! Store in an airtight container.
Wedding Cake Cookies
These cookies are soft, buttery and delicious with a nice almond flavor and a bit of sparkle too! And, most importantly, they are super easy. With only a few ingredients you can make these beauties.
Ingredients
- For Cookies:
- 2 boxes white cake mix
- 4 eggs
- 2/3 cup vegetable or canola oil
- 2 teaspoons almond flavoring or extract
- For Frosting:
- 2 sticks butter, softened
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- 4 teaspoons almond extract or flavoring
- 3 - 4 teaspoons of milk (any kind)
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line your baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Step 2 In the bowl of your stand mixer or deep bowl if you are using a hand mixer, add the cake mixes, oil, eggs and flavoring. Mix well until a very soft dough forms.
- Step 3 Let the dough sit on your counter for about 15 minutes.
- Step 4 Drop the dough in 2 Tablespoon-sized mounds on your baking sheet.
- Step 5 Bake for 8 minutes or until they are just slightly browned around the edges.
- Step 6 Remove them from the oven and leave on the cookie sheet for 2 or 3 minutes before removing to a parchment lined cooling rack or surface.
- Step 7 Make the frosting after the cookies are completely cooled.
- Step 8 With a mixer, beat the softened butter for 2 or 3 minutes until fluffy.
- Step 9 Add the powdered sugar in 1 cup increments, alternating with the liquids.
- Step 10 Frost the cookies with 1 – 2 Tablespoons of icing.
- Step 11 Add the sprinkles immediately.
- Step 12 Leave the cookies out for an hour or so to give the frosting time to set up.
