One of the joys of having raised our children in one place throughout the course of their school years is that they have lifelong friends– young men and women with whom they literally grew up and are still close. A few weeks ago, several of these families had the honor of hosting a bridal shower for one of our dear, young friends.

My assignment was to create the party favors. With my youngest daughter as a consultant, we decided upon a Mason Jar food product of some sort. These old, classic jars are experiencing a strong comeback, with Pinterest and food bloggers leading the rejuvenation effort.

We finally settled upon making White Almond Wedding Cupcakes (recipe here) topped with The Best Chocolate Buttercream for Cupcakes Frosting (recipe here.) The recipes were both easy to execute, even for me. After cooking and cooling the cupcakes, I split them in half, stuck the bottoms in the Mason Jar, hit them with a swirl of frosting, put the other halves into the jar and then topped them all off with more frosting. Using the Nordic Ware Ultimate Decorating Tool  (only $29.95 at Williams-Sonoma and well worth the price) made this process much prettier than if I would have tried to frost the cupcakes and then insert them into the jar.

To top it all off, I wrapped the jars with twine, added a fork (should a culinary emergency occur), and used the wedding colors to make small tags that each contained a different quotation about love. This was not an expensive or terribly time-consuming party favor, and I think they were well-recieved by the shower attendees. Love to you both, Courtney and Stuart. We can’t wait to celebrate your big day!