Julia Dent Grant

Julia and Boston Cream Pie Cookies

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First Ladies - 1850 to 1900

Julia Dent Grant*

President Ulysses S. Grant*

First Lady Julia and President Ulysses S. Grant
First Lady - 1869 - 1877
Quotes from Julia - 

• "And now, even though his beautiful life has gone out, it is as when some far-off planet disappears from the heavens; the light of his glorious fame still reached out to me, falls upon me, and warms me."
• "My life in the White House was like a bright and beautiful dream."

Factoids -

• President Grant's Inauguration Ball was planned as a huge event in a temporary ballroom with mountains of food and decor including cages of singing canaries.  Freezing weather caused havoc with no heat in the temporary ballroom making the food cold and the canaries freeze!
• Julia always asked that her portraits be profiles due to one of her eyes not focusing straight-on.

Bio -

• Julia grew up in a wealthy family in Missouri.  Her childhood was full of horse-riding, fishing, and playing in the woods - being a free spirt.  As a girl, she declared she would one day marry a soldier.  Indeed she did, marrying Ulysses S. Grant, her brother's West Point roommate.   They were married in 1848 and their love was boundless, surviving war and hard times! Together, they had four children.
• When Ulysses became President, Julia took an active part in political activities.  She went to Congressional hearings, scanned her husband's mail, and met with Congressmen, cabinet members, and diplomats alike, bringing feeling of warm welcome to the White House.
• During Grant's two terms of office (1869-1877), Julia was an active participant in presidential and political matters. She went to Senate hearings, read the president’s mail, advised Ulysses, and met with cabinet members, senators, justices, and diplomats.
• She loved her role as America's hostess and to all her guests she brought a warm and home-like feeling to the White House.  Her love for living in the White House spread to all those who visited.  For the rest of her life, she remembered the family's years in the White House as some of their happiest times.  

About Ulysses - Ulysses Grant was the 18th president and the most famous Union general of the Civil War.  Ulysses worked to rebuild the South and protect the rights of freed slaves during Reconstruction. His presidency was marred by his cabinet and their corruption and scandals. Despite the issues, he fought strongly against the Ku Klux Klan and supported civil rights enforcement.

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Boston Cream Pie Cookies

Ulysses Grant's favorite dessert was supposedly Boston Cream Pie.  I couldn't find any favorite cookies for him, so l adapted the pie into Boston Cream Pie Cookies from a recipe given to me by my Aunt Bessie.  It was originally was from the New England Holdaway family.  She adapted this shortcut, using instant pudding mix and vanilla wafers.

Ingredients - Makes about 3 dozen small cookies.
1 small box vanilla instant pudding mix
1 cup COLD milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream, divided into 1/2 cup portions
3 tablespoons Confectioner's sugar
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
70 - 75 Vanilla Wafers 

Steps

1. Stir together vanilla pudding mix and cold milk in a mixing bowl.  Make sure all the lumps are combined. Let sit for about 10 minutes to thicken and set.
2. Mix 1/2 cup of the whipping cream and the Confectioner's sugar together until it forms stiff peaks.  Gently fold into the vanilla pudding.  
3. Spoon the vanilla pudding to a large ziplock bag and refrigerate.  You'll be using this bag like a piping bag - to squeeze the pudding onto the cookies later.  If you don't have ziplock bags, don't worry, you can just spoon everything, instead of piping it.
4. Melt the chocolate chips and the other 1/2 cup  of heavy whipping cream together in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stove.  Stir until chocolate is melted and cream is hot.  DO NOT let boil.  Spoon into another ziplock bag.
5. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Lay half of the vanilla wafers (flat side UP) onto the sheet.  
6. Cut one small corner of the ziplock bag of vanilla pudding.  Squeeze the bag to put a portion of vanilla pudding onto each wafer half.  Gently press another wafer half on top to make a cookie sandwich.   Repeat for all.
7. Cut one small corner of the ziplock bag of chocolate mix and squeeze a portion on top of each sandwich.  You can use a spoon to smooth or swirl it.  
8. Put them in the refrigerator and chill before serving, if you can wait!

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Portrait Credits*
Julia Grant - CC Matthew Brady Studio, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Frederick Hill Meserve Collection, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons; Grant family - W. Pach, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Ulysses S. Grant - Sitting - George Peter Alexander Healy, "The Peacemaker", Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons