Helen Nellie Herron Taft

6/23/2025

Nellie and Salted Almond Cookies

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First Ladies - 1900 to 2000

Helen Nellie Herron Taft*

President Willian Howard Taft*

About William - William Taft, as 27th President, focused on legal reform and continued many of Roosevelt's policies, but lacked Roosevelt's charisma and alienated progressives. His cautious approach to reform led to a split in the Republican Party. He later became Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, the only person to serve in both roles.

First Lady Nellie and President William Howard Taft
First Lady - 1909 - 1913
Quote from Nellie - "Higher education for women? My daughter has elected to take a full college course...I believe in the best and most thorough education for everyone, men and women, and it is my proudest boast that all of my children are studious."
Factoids -

Nellie was the first to ride with her husband in the Inaugural Parade.
Nellie was the first First Lady to own and drive a car!
Living for a time in Japan, inspired Nellie to have cherry trees with their fantastic blossoms planted around D.C.'s Tidal Basin. They were part of a gift from Tokyo.
Nellie donated her Inaugural gown to the Smithsonian Institute, starting the First Ladies' gown exhibit, which still exists today.

Bio

Helen was yet another First Lady from Ohio! She grew up in a large family, with both a brother and a father active in politics, which cultivated her lifelong interest. As a girl, she visited President Hayes's White House and made up her mind to marry a President! As a beautiful woman, Nellie met William Howard Taft at a sledding party and they fell in love, marrying a few years later.
Nellie was a great supporter of William's political career, helping to campaign and following him on overseas assignments. She worked tirelessly on his Presidential campaign, to the point of being criticized for not keeping to her "place" as a politician's wife!
When William became President, Nellie transferred that energy to being First Lady and all that entailed. After just two months in the White House, Nellie suffered a stroke that affected speech and ability to read and write. Her daughter and sisters stepped in to help with First Lady duties, while Nellie did what she could from the family's private quarters.
Nellie did eventually recover and worked on a few political causes. In 1912, she became initiated a Federal Act that ordered health inspections at government buildings to make sure the federal employees had a safe and clean workplace.
At the end of William's term as President, Nellie wrote and published the first memoir by a First Lady, Reflections of Full Years. Nellie and William remained in Washington, as he was appointed as chief justice to the Supreme Court.

Salted Almond Cookies

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Milk and Cookies! William and Nellie had their own source of fresh milk from a dairy cow named Pauline Wayne, living on the White House lawn. Pauline was much loved by the public and the New York Times announced her retirement to a farm in Wisconsin at the end of the President's term.

Ingredients
1 cup unsweetened almond butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Flaky salt (optional)

Steps

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Prepare cookie sheets by greasing or lining with parchment paper.
In a bowl, mix the almond butter, sugar, and egg together until smooth.
Use a tablespoon to scoop heaping spoonfuls of dough and drop them onto the cookie sheet, about 1 & 1/2 -inches apart. Sprinkle with flaky salt and freeze for about 15 minutes.
Bake for about 14 minutes, rotating halfway through, until the edges are just starting to brown and the tops are crackly.
Let cool on cookie sheet about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.

Recipe Card

Portrait Credits*
Helen Nellie Taft - Artist, Karl Bror Albert Kronstrand, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Willliam Howard Taft - Anders Zorn, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons