Cookies and the first Ladies

See the photos

Discover the recipes

Read The Stories!

My Experiences with
​the first lady cookie project...

  • I had an incredible amount of fun doing the research, finding photos, searching for recipes, and putting it all together for all of America's First Ladies and cookies.  What I initially thought would take a couple of weeks, took two months of daily research and design!
  • I realized cookies weren't so popular in the Colonial Days of America.  In searching, I discovered that most of the favorite recipes for the First Ladies were not cookies at all.
  • I'm stubborn.  My mind was set on cookie recipes.  In many cases, after hours of searching, I had to settle on a recipe that was similar to their favorite food.  
  • One such case was Julia and President Grant.  There was no mention  anywhere of cookies; the couple loved Boston Cream Pies.  Ha!  I researched recipes for Boston Cream Pie Cookies and combined the best of all worlds. ​
  • The amount of history I learned was astonishing.  Even if you don't make the cookies, reading the short biographies and quotes of the First Ladies will have you chuckling, smiling, and in a few cases, shedding a tear.  Their lives were not all about cookies and milk.  The hardships for these families was all too often real.
Pull up a chair, get some cookies and milk, and enjoy a bit of history...
The First Ladies -  Their Gents and Their Cookie Recipes
1700s
​Martha Custis Washington - George; Shrewsbury Cakes
Abigail Smith Adams - John; Molasses Raisin Cookies
1800 - 1850
Martha Jefferson Randolph - Thomas; Soft Ginger Cookies
Dolley Payne Madison - James;  Dolley’s Sugar Cookies
Elizabeth & Eliza Monroe - James; Cry Baby Cookies
Louisa Johnson Adams - John; Shrewsbury Biscuits
Emily Donelson, Sarah & Rachel Jackson - Andrew; Jackson Jumbles
Angelica Van Buren - Martin; Apple Pie Cookies
Anna & Jane Harrison - William;  Harrison Cookies
Letitia, Priscilla, and Julia Tyler - John; Tippecanoe and Tyler Too Spice Cookies
Sarah Childress Polk - James; Pecan Macaroon Cookies
Peggy Taylor & Betty Taylor Dandridge - Zachary; ​Calas Rice Fritters
1851 - 1900​​
Abigail Fillmore - Millard; Apple Pockets
Jane Pierce - Franklin ; Apple Thumbprint Cookies
Harriet Lane Johnston (niece) - James Buchanan; Apees Cookies
​Mary Todd Lincoln - Abraham; Sugar Cookies
Eliza Johnson and Martha Johnson Patterson - Andrew; Sweet Potato Cookies
Julia Grant - Ulysses S.; Boston Cream Pie Cookies
Lucy Hayes - Rutherford B.; Big Ole Corncake Cookies
Lucretia Garfield - James; Milk Cookies
Mary Arthur McElroy (sister) - Chester A. Arthur; Devil's Food Cake Cookies
Rose & Frances Cleveland - Grover; Snickerdoodles
Caroline Harrison & Mary H. McKee (daughter)- Benjamin; Birthday Bon Bons​
Frances Cleveland - Grover   (2nd Term)
 Ida McKinley - William; Pecan Icebox Cookies
​
1900s
​Edith Roosevelt - Theodore; Sagamore Hill Sand Tarts
Helen Nellie Taft - William Howard; Salted Almond Cookies
Ellen, Margaret, & Edith Wilson - Woodrow; Tea Cakes
Florence Harding - Warren G.; Almond Sugary Cookies
Grace Coolidge - Calvin; ​Maple Walnut Cookies
Lou Hoover - Herbert; Girl Scout Cookies
Eleanor Roosevelt - Franklin; Soft Chewy Gingersnaps
​Elizabeth (Bess) Truman - Harry S.; Bess's Brownies
Mamie Eisenhower - Dwight D. (Ike); Chocolate Marble Cookies
Jackie Kennedy - John F.; Jackie's Chocolate Chip Cookies
Lady Bird Johnson - Lyndon B.; Chocolate Nut Drops
Pat Nixon - Richard; Lemon Sugar Cookies
Betty Ford - Gerald; Double Chocolate Cookies
​Rosalynn Carter - Jimmy; Humdinger Date Nut Rolls
Nancy Reagan - Ronald; Coconut Macaroons
​Barbara Bush - George H. W. ; Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Hillary Clinton - William (Bill); Clinton Family Chocolate Chip Cookies
2000s
Laura Bush - George W.; Texas Cowboy Cookies
Michelle Obama - Barack; Almond Shortbread Cookie Bars
Melania Trump - Donald; Star Cookies
Jill Biden - Joseph (Joe); Jill's Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Melania Trump - Donald (2nd Term)
Portrait Credits*
Yale Miniature Locket Portrait - Dolley Madison - Unidentified painter, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Michelle and Barack Obama - Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library, Public Domain
1700s Martha Washington - National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
1800-1850 Sarah Polk - George Dury, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
1850-1900 Frances Cleveland - Anders Zorn, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Frances Payne, Public domain
1900s Jackie Kennedy - Shaw, Mark, photographer. First official White House photograph of Mrs. John F. Kennedy 1961, Public Domain
2000s Michelle Obama - Joyce Boghosian, Public domain, via Wikimedia