Sweetness and light in presidential cookies

By LISA GUTIERREZ

This election season is so stressing me out.

The Republicans can’t stand the Democrats and the Democrats can’t stand the Republicans. The left hates the right; the right hates the left.

What could possibly heal this nation of ours after Nov. 4?

I know! Cookies!

Sugar is bipartisan, right?

At least it is in Presidential Cookies (Presidential Publishing; second edition, 2005), a collection of recipes for the cookies enjoyed by our U.S. presidents.

The book’s author, Bev Young, gathered the recipes from several sources, including The White House Cook Book of 1887 and the personal recipe collections of our presidents and first ladies.

Cookies and the occupants of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue go way back. All the way to 1801, when the first occupants of the newly built “president’s palace,” John and Abigail Adams, introduced the mansion to the public at a grand New Year’s Day reception, serving cakes and tarts — and cookies.

The lowly cookie, in fact, is very much a staple at the White House. For more than 200 years, cookies have been served at White House garden parties, teas, receptions, luncheons and handed out at Christmas — more than 100,000 in a typical Clinton holiday season.

We hear that White House chefs have even kept them in the freezer for when that 3 a.m. call comes in from the West Wing.

If you can judge a man by the kind of cookie he prefers, we’ll let you decide what it means that Lyndon Baines Johnson had a Texas-sized affection for tart, tangy lemon squares.

And Abraham Lincoln? He liked his cookies heavily seasoned with ginger.

First children, not surprisingly, get in on the act, too. In the Jimmy Carter White House, fresh batches of first daughter Amy’s favorite peanut butter cookies were kept in a boot-shaped cookie jar in the White House kitchen.

Hey, I could live in the White House. I like cookies, too.

Some people chase away the blues with alcohol.

I drown my angst in layers of Mint Milanos.

I also love to bake my own. So, of course, I happily obliged to try out (and sample) a few of these red, white and blue recipes.

(Adhering to The Kansas City Star’s strict ethics guideline, I made sure that half the recipes came from Republicans, half from Democrats. So please don’t call me out for media bias.)

I stuck with recipes from more contemporary times because, frankly, cookies with names such as “cry babies” (James Monroe) and “rocks” (Chester Arthur) didn’t make me salivate.

But Gerald Ford’s Double Chocolate Chip Cookies — double chocolate! — called my name. Although the batter was sticky and messy to work with, the effort was well worth it. In a very blind taste test here in the office, they were a hit.

On the other hand, I think I must have done something wrong with Amy Carter’s favorite peanut butter cookies because my dough ended up dry as dust, and the cookies did, too. (Sorry, Amy.)

And can I just say that no matter how hard Hillary Clinton tried to distance herself from the stereotype of a housewife-who-stays-home-baking-cookies, the senator from New York makes one great chocolate chip cookie.

That recipe, in fact, won Clinton bragging rights in the first lady cookie contest organized by Family Circle magazine every election year. In 1992 Clinton’s recipe beat out Barbara Bush’s version of the traditional chocolate chipper.

Family Circle readers boast a 100 percent track record in predicting the winner of the White House, based on whose wife has the most popular recipe.

Laura Bush, then, is a two-time winner. Her cowboy cookies were judged tastier than Tipper Gore’s ginger snaps, and her oatmeal-chocolate chunk cookies beat out Teresa Heinz Kerry’s four years later.

This year Cindy McCain’s oatmeal-butterscotch cookies are pitted against Michelle Obama’s shortbread cookies. The winner will be announced in the magazine’s Nov. 1 issue.

See. Cookies are just as patriotic as apple pie; easier to make, too.

So here’s a thought. Let’s all eat a cookie, or two, before we vote on Election Day.

I’m Lisa Gutierrez.

And I approved this message.

PRESIDENTIAL RECIPES

Mamie Eisenhower’s Sugar Cookies

11‚Ñ2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1‚Ñ2 teaspoon salt

1‚Ñ2 cup butter (1 stick)

1 cup sugar

2 egg yolks, well-beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon cream

Sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, cream butter, adding sugar slowly. Mix until fluffy.

Stir in well-beaten egg yolks and vanilla. Add sifted dry ingredients alternately with the cream. Chill cookie dough 1 hour. Roll out on a floured surface and cut in any desired shape. Sprinkle with sugar before baking. Place cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes.

Makes 3 dozen cookies

Per cookie: 71 calories (39 percent from fat), 3 grams total fat (2 grams saturated), 19 milligrams cholesterol, 10 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram protein, 70 milligrams sodium, trace dietary fiber.

Lady Bird Johnson’s Lemon Squares

2 cups flour

1‚Ñ4 cup sugar

1 cup butter (2 sticks)

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

4 tablespoons flour

3 beaten eggs

Juice and grated rind of two lemons

Powdered sugar to sprinkle on top

For the crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix first three ingredients for pie crust. Pat onto 9x18x1-inch greased cookie sheet. Bake about 15 minutes until very light brown.

For the filling: Mix the remaining ingredients in order given and pour over baked crust. Bake 15-20 minutes or until set. When pan is cool, cut into squares and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Makes 24 squares

Per square: 192 calories (38 percent from fat), 8 grams total fat (5 grams saturated), 47 milligrams cholesterol, 28 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams protein, 108 milligrams sodium, trace dietary fiber.

Gerald Ford’s Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup butter, softened (2 sticks)

13‚Ñ4 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons brandy or vanilla

1 ounce unsweetened baking chocolate, melted

1‚Ñ4 cup sour cream

2 cups flour

3‚Ñ4 cup cocoa

1‚Ñ2 teaspoon baking soda

1‚Ñ4 teaspoon baking powder

1‚Ñ2 teaspoon salt

2 cups white chocolate chips

1 cup chopped Brazil nuts or almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in brandy or vanilla. Stir melted chocolate and sour cream into creamed mixture. In medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture. Stir in white chocolate chips and nuts. Drop batter by tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 12-14 minutes. Remove from oven and cool 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire rack and cool completely.

Makes 5 dozen

Per cookie: 140 calories (50 percent from fat), 8 grams total fat (5 grams saturated), 16 milligrams cholesterol, 15 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams protein, 75 milligrams sodium, 1 gram dietary fiber.

Amy Carter’s favorite Peanut Butter Cookies

1‚Ñ2 cup butter (1 stick)

1‚Ñ2 cup shortening

1‚Ñ2 cup chunky or smooth peanut butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

1‚Ñ4 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 teaspoon baking soda

1‚Ñ4 cup warm water

3 cups sifted flour

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In large mixing bowl, cream together butter, shortening and peanut butter. Beat in granulated and light brown sugars and salt. Beat in eggs, one at a time. In small bowl, dissolve baking soda in warm water. Add to butter-sugar mixture and stir well. Stir in flour. Mix until dough is smooth. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour or until dough is firm enough to be workable. Roll dough by hand into 1-inch balls. Arrange balls on ungreased cookie sheets, leaving 1 to 2 inches between cookies. Gently press each ball flat with tines of a fork; press each cookie again, crosswise, to flatten to 1‚Ñ4 -inch thickness and to create crisscross pattern. To prevent fork from sticking, occasionally dip it into flour. Bake 15 minutes or until golden brown. Let cookies stand 10 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely. Store in a tightly covered container.

(Make large cookies by forming the dough into large balls about the size of golf balls. Bake 20-25 minutes until light brown.)

Makes 5 dozen

Per cookie: 93 calories (46 percent from fat), 5 grams total fat (2 grams saturated), 11 milligrams cholesterol, 11 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram protein, 59 milligrams sodium. trace dietary fiber.

Hillary Clinton’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

11‚Ñ2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup shortening

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1‚Ñ2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1 (12-ounce) package semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease baking sheets. Combine flour, salt and baking soda. In a separate bowl, beat together shortening, sugars and vanilla until creamy. Add eggs, beating until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in flour mixture and rolled oats. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop batter by well-rounded teaspoon onto greased baking sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden. Cool cookies on sheets on wire rack 2 minutes. Remove cookies to wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 7 dozen

Per cookie: 55 calories (48 percent from fat), 3 grams total fat (1 gram saturated), 5 milligrams cholesterol, 6 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram protein, 43 milligrams sodium, trace dietary fiber.

Ronald Reagan Vienna Chocolate Bars

1 cup butter (2 sticks)

11‚Ñ2 cups sugar

2 egg yolks

21‚Ñ2 cups flour

1‚Ñ4 teaspoon salt

1 (10-ounce) jar raspberry jelly

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

4 egg whites

2 cups finely chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter, 1‚Ñ2 cup of the sugar and 2 egg yolks. Add flour and salt and knead with fingers. Pat batter flat onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake 15-20 minutes until lightly browned. Remove cookie sheet from oven. Spread jelly across baked cookie crust, and top with chocolate chips. Beat egg whites until stiff. Fold in remaining sugar and nuts. Gently spread egg white mixture on top of jelly and chocolate chips. Bake again about 25 minutes. Cut into squares or bars.

(Using jam instead of jelly makes flavor richer. Other berry jams can be substituted for raspberry.)

Makes 2 dozen bars

Per bar: 310 calories (47 percent from fat), 17 grams total fat (7 grams saturated), 37 milligrams cholesterol, 38 grams carbohydrates, 5 grams protein, 117 milligrams sodium, 2 grams dietary fiber.