Italian Cookie Trays

My Godchild, Cara, will be married right after the New Year and during the celebration, as with any celebration or holiday, there will be cookie trays. No, not pretty rounded silver trays with a doilie and three rows of Peppridge Farm Party Mix Cookies, but a sturdy rounded piece of foiled wrapped wood with 2 to 3 lb. mounds of assorted yummy treasures. Also included in these bountiful trays are sugar coated almonds and other Italian candies. ( Almonds are a symbol of good fortune and are also wrapped in netting with the bride and groom's name and wedding date on a ribbon that is tied to part of the wedding favors...After almost 22 years of marriage, I still have one of the netted almond mementos from my wedding.."Billy & Merri - September 12, 1987"....surprisingly, the almonds have held up rather well, but eat them, I would not dare! ). The cookies are not only beautifully presented, but are delicious. When I put any one of them in my mouth, I taste the familiarity of my youth, my family and my heritage. It would not be a celebration without cookie trays. Whether it's Christmas, a wedding, a communion or a funeral, cookie trays are there, adding to the celebration of the moment. Now that I live in Ohio, I don't have the pleasure of visiting the Italian bakery back home and picking out the cookies that will be selected for my trays. I am the baker now, and I bake the cookies and put together the trays...But when I'm baking the cookies,if I close my eyes and let the aroma take over, in my mind: I am back on line at Rozzini's Bakery, waiting to pick out all of the little treasures that will adorn my tray.