Our Vegan Wedding: Cookie Buffet!

There were a few reasons why we decided not to have a wedding cake... First of all, I didn't know of any bakeries in town that made good vegan cakes. Second of all, I am not really into frosting. Thirdly, wouldn't a giant buffet full of vegan cookies be even more fun???

So, in the weeks leading up to the wedding, I got to work on baking a mega-ton of cookies (13 varieties in all!). I would do a whole bunch of baking, cool the cookies, bag them up in freezer bags, and then drive them across town to my aunt Laura's giant outdoor freezer for safe keeping. Cookies freeze well, so we just took them out and let them thaw on the morning of the wedding. It worked out awesome!

These are the "Super Charge Me Oatmeal Cookies" from one of Dreena Burton's books. I really love this recipe so much. I used to make these for my grandpa all the time. The recipe calls for chocolate chips, but I use raisins instead... because I like to pretend that my oatmeal cookies are healthy.

As you can see, I was also carefully labeling all the different batches to accommodate our various guests' needs and preferences: soy-free, wheat-free, and gluten-free options were all provided!

Homestyle Chocolate Chip Cookies (again a Dreena Burton recipe). My favorite chocolate chip cookie, by far. I don't know if you can tell in this picture, but I made all the cookies mini-size... so that people could try out lots of different cookies before they reached their stopping point!

Sugar Cookies, Mr. VE&T's all-time favorite. I use the veganized recipe from Joy of Cooking. Heart shapes seemed appropriate! Plus, I just had to make these because I proposed to him with sugar cookies. :)

These Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies were made by my friend Jane! A cookie contribution! She said they didn't turn out right, but you coulda fooled me. I thought they were amazing! Chocolate + Hazelnut is pretty much a winning combo no matter what.

Citrus Glitters, from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar. I love this recipe! I love chocolatey things... and when I was trying to come up with a list of which cookies to make, I started out with all chocolatey cookies. Then I remembered this recipe, which is light and fruity and perfect for our summery wedding. They were a big hit!

These Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are from an old recipe on Mitten Machen's blog and they are one of my favorite cookies ever, and definitely one of my favorite Gluten Free cookie recipes ever. Plus, isn't my tray with little mice on it super cute?

I created these Chocolate Cherry Pecan Cookies out of a Dreena Burton recipe, and I love them. They're thick and super chocolatey, and stuffed full with chocolate chips, dried cherries, and toasted pecans. Mmmm.

Maple Walnut Cookies, from a Dreena Burton book. Mr. VE&T loves these cookies so much. He calls them Pancake Cookies because they are so maple-syrupy like pancakes. By the way, did you know that you can stock up on maple syrup at Costco? I went with my aunts (who are members) and now I have a good Maple Syrup supply to last me for a while!

Butterscotch Amaretti, from Manifest Vegan's new book: Great Gluten-Free Vegan Eats. My pal Kittee suggested I try this recipe, and these little buggers were GOOD. Chewy, caramelly, and full of nutty flavor. I cannot wait to make them again. They were a total hit - with the GF crowd as well as with the gluten-friendly folks.

Chewy Chocolate Raspberry Cookies - from Veganomicon. I really love this recipe, though I must say, this wasn't my best batch. Back in the day, I used to make raspberry jam every year with berries from my grandparents' garden, and that stuff was just loaded with super intense raspberry magic. But this time I had to use raspberry jam from the grocery store, and the raspberry flavor just wasn't very strong. It makes me miss my raspberry jam days.

Brownies! My favorite recipe of All Time, from the Joy of Vegan Baking.  I love this recipe because it calls for no oil at all, and yet they are still moist, dense, gloriously chocolately bombs of delight.

These cookies are a recipe I came up with a while back, in honor of my grandpa. He was a very lean and super health-conscious guy, but his favorite dessert was a bowl of Mocha Almond Fudge ice cream with a generous pour of DiSaronno liquer on top. So, I created these cookies - which combine all those lovely flavors together. It was Mr. VE&T who thought of calling them Grandaddies.

Mini Gingerbread Biscotti - again from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar. I first had these last year, when my friend Alana made us some as a holiday gift. It was love at first bite! They have a gingery base, and then chunks of candied ginger mixed in. They were a big hit! Also, it was really fun and easy to make them them mini-style. Maybe I will stick with mini-biscotti from now on?

I think this recipe is officially called "You Got Peanut Butter In My Chocolate Cookie" or something like that (the recipe is from Dreena Burton). Over the years, this has consistently been one of my most crowd-pleasing cookie creations. People absolutely love these cookies - me included. They are super chocolatey with chocolate chips and big ribbons of peanut butter swirled through. Truly, they are delicious.

Here's a good shot of all the cookies out on display (along with coffee and tea)...

... also there was a lot of fresh fruit. Bowls of strawberries (which I got at the farmer's market that morning), and platters of sliced up stone fruits. The cookies and fruits together were a great combo.

This was my little dessert plate - overflowing with goodness! It took me many hours, but between socializing and chatting with friends, and cleaning up afterwards, I finally made my way through it all! 

Last but not least! I made us some special cookies for our First Cookie moment. You know how usually at a wedding, the couple shares a piece of cake? We shared that round cookie in the middle. The portraits of us in our wedding outfits have been frozen... maybe we'll do that thing where you're supposed to eat it on your first anniversary!?

Here we are, sharing our First Cookie! Happy Wedding!

Next up: Our Morning-After Wedding Brunch