Grace Goodhue Coolidge

6/6/2025

Grace and Maple Walnut Cookies

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First Ladies - 1900 to 2000

Grace Goodhue Coolidge*

President Calvin Coolidge*

Grace Coolidge and Rebecca*

First Lady Grace and President Calvin Coolidge
First Lady - August 2, 1923 – March 4, 1929
Quotes from Grace -

“It has been my unbroken policy not to see newspaper writers or give interviews to anyone. At the word interview spoken or written, my ears go up and my chin out.”
“If a man amounts to much in this world, he must encounter many and varied annoyances whose number mounts as his effectiveness increases.”

Factoid - Grace was the First Lady of Baseball. It was one of Grace's favorite past times; she was a fan of the Boston Red Sox and the Washington Senators.
Bio -

Grace Goodhue was born in Vermont, trained as a Deaf Education teacher at university. While teaching in Massachusetts, she met and married Calvin Coolidge, a young lawyer, and had two children. Grace was supportive of Calvin’s political career as Lieutenant Governor, Governor of Massachusetts, then Vice-President to Warren G. Harding.
Calvin became President when Warren Harding died. In the White House, Grace redecorated both family quarters and the main White House back to historic authenticity. She returned many original furnishings that had been removed by former First Ladies and worked to acquire other antique furnishings from the appropriate time periods.
Grace was famously friendly and sported a smile more often than not. It’s said that she was the most photographed woman of the 1920s, also appearing in newsreels for the new “talkies” - movies with sound! Her spunk and personality helped Calvin succeed with the public. He was often portrayed as "grumpy", but there were some hidden gems in the White House...
Calvin's supporters from Mississippi gifted him a live raccoon - to be eaten for Thanksgiving Dinner! However, the family named the raccoon, Rebecca, and she quickly became the White House pet, along with their menagerie of dogs and birds. Rebecca had a little house of her own and free roamed the White House lawns, but often preferred the indoor White house. She was known for knocking over plants and playing in the bathtubs! Rebecca was a star with the public, often going on outings with Grace.

About Calvin - Calvin Coolidge, as 30th President, emphasized limited government and led the nation in a period of economic prosperity known as the "Roaring Twenties." He restored public trust and cut taxes while maintaining a budget surplus. During Calvin's Presidency, Lindbergh made the first transatlantic flight and Congress gave indigenous people the right to vote. Quiet and reserved, he chose not to seek re-election in 1928.

Maple Walnut Cookies

Grace Coolidge was from Vermont, so some of her favorite foods contained maple syrup! During the1920s, maple syrup was an excellent method of sweetening desserts.

Ingredients - Makes 2 dozen.
1 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 & 1/2 to 2 cup self-rising flour
2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon maple extract or maple syrup
1 teaspoon salt

Steps

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cookie sheets by greasing or lining with parchment paper.
Mix together butter, both sugars, eggs, extract, and salt until just combined.
Gradually add both flours. If dough is too sticky, add a little more flour. Stir in walnuts.
Using a tablespoon, scoop dough onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake one dozen at a time for 10 - 13 minutes, until cookies are puffy and starting to turn golden. Remove from oven and let cool on cookie sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack for cooling.

Portrait Credits*
Grace Coolidge - oil painting - Philip de László, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; with Rob Roy - National Photo Company, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; With Rebecca the raccoon - Library of Congress, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Calvin Coolidge - Joseph E. Burgess, National Portrait Gallery; gift of the Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons