Election 2024 Cookies

November 5: Election Day 2024

Oh, here we go with the election craziness again! The United States sadly seems divided if we watch the candidates’ antics. We pray for a positive outcome for the sake of our citizens. We stay neutral on endorsements on this blog (besides, Highlander is a Canadian and cannot vote here). While people can agree to disagree and try to be civil about the election results, we turn to a sweet distraction: cookies! 

Although the Presidential Cookie Poll by the now defunct Family Circle magazine has ended, our friends (whether Democrats, Republicans and independent or Americans and non-Americans) still look forward to participating in our little home baked cookie contest since 2008. Other professional bakeries (such as Alessi, Busken, Lochel’s and Three Brothers) across the nation have their own competitions. 

When we lived on the mainland, we baked election-themed treats for Islander’s brother’s prayer group. This year in Hawaii, we found new guinea pigs voters at her mom’s liturgy council meeting. In the past, we baked cookies from recipes submitted by the prospective First Spouses. If no recipes were available, we searched online for cookies associated with the candidates.

This year, we featured monster cookies for the Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and “three-peated” the sour cream star cookies for the Republican nominee former President Donald Trump. 

Harris’ cookies are very similar to former Republican nominee Mitt Romney’s wife Ann’s recipe that she submitted to Family Circle back in 2012. Harris admitted she never tried monster cookies before she made them with a campaign volunteer. But now this recipe is featured on a card from The Presidential Culinary Museum and Presidential Service Center in North Carolina and is called “Kamala’s Monster Cookies”. We could have chosen to make lemon bars, like in the children’s book, “Kamala Harris” by Nikki Grimes. But this recipe shows Harris on YouTube making the cookies.

The sour cream star cookies recipe makes its third appearance on our blog in an historical first. These cookies are actually from Donald Trump’s wife Melania who ate them during her childhood in Slovenia (formerly Yugoslavia); many Eastern European cookie recipes feature sour cream in them and treats there are less sweet than American cookie recipes. These cookies may be frosted and decorated but we followed the information that was provided in Family Circle.

In this volatile election environment, bring people together for a fun food activity and bake monster oatmeal and sour cream star cookies. God bless America!

Recipe

(Adapted from YouTube)

For Harris’ Monster Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 ½ cups peanut butter (see Notes)
• 4 ½ cups oatmeal
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• ½ cup nuts, chopped (see Notes)
• ½ cup chocolate chips
• 2 cups M&M chocolate candies (see Notes)

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter with the white and brown sugar. Beat in the eggs. Stir in the vanilla.

Beat in the peanut butter. Stir in the oatmeal, baking soda and nuts.

Fold in the chocolate chips, then the M&Ms. Mix well. Scoop into a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, adjusting the time based on your oven temperature. Remove from the oven and cool completely. Cookies will be soft and chewy. Store in airtight container until ready to serve.

For Trump’s Star Cookies

(Please see our 2016 blog post for the recipe.)

Notes

• See our election day cookie posts for 2012, 2016 and 2020. We started making cookies for 2008, too, but did not start blogging until 2010.
• We used creamy peanut butter. Chunky peanut butter may be used. Natural peanut butter will yield different results.
• We used peanuts instead of other nuts to enhance the peanut butter taste.
• We could not find red, white and blue M&Ms this time. So we bought regular mix M&Ms and individually picked out the red and blue ones from the other colors. We had to divide the dough in two before mixing in the separated M&Ms. The final food photo shows the Harris cookie with red and blue M&Ms.

Election 2020 Cookies

November 3: Election Day 2020

Family Circle has discontinued its Presidential Cookie Poll (which began in 1992) because the magazine itself ceased to exist (2019). While it was a fun food event, it was outdated and inaccurate in predicting the winners of the White House.

We had a request this year to make election cookies again—something sweet in a not-so-sweet year. We have made them for Islander’s brother’s student prayer group for the past three presidential elections. Social gatherings have been cancelled because of COVID-19 so we made—and mailed—the cookies just for his religious community. They won’t have any students gathering with them in 2020 to pray for America and to vote on the cookies. But the nine priests and brothers can still enjoy a little Election Day dessert.

We already had First Lady of the United States Melania Trump’s cookie recipe (posted on our blog in 2016). But we could not find any official cookie recipe from former Second Lady Dr. Jill Biden (her guilty pleasure is French fries, according to Parade). The only mention of cookies in any interview was on the U.S. World Herald where she shared about her Italian-American upbringing. She stated, “My grandfather had a saying, ‘Finire a tarallucci e vino’—to finish with little cookies with wine. It essentially means, no matter our differences during dinner, we finish as a family.”

With that only hint for a cookie, we made Italian taralli with Marsala vino, olive oil and a light lemon glaze to represent Team Biden. We also baked star-shaped sour cream sugar cookies again to represent Team Trump. Put the cookies on a patriotic platter and exercise your right to vote for your favorite election cookie and candidate!

Recipe

(Adapted from Martha Stewart)

For the taralli cookies

• 3 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspon salt
• ½ cup sugar, granulated white
• 1 egg
• ½ cup extra virgin olilve oil
• ½ cup Marsala vino (wine)

For the icing (optional but recommended)

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions

In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg with the sugar. Stir in the olive oil and Marsala.

Gradually add the flour mixture and blend well until a dough comes together. Turn out dough onto a clean, dry surface. Pinch out pieces of dough and roll into half-inch thick ropes. Cut into 6-inch pieces and form into a loop.

Press the dough ends to seal into a circle. Place each cookie onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack.

Make the glaze by combining in a small bowl the powdered sugar, milk and lemon juice. Stir until thick and smooth. Dip the top of the cookie in the glaze and let dry. Serve with some wine.

For Trump’s Star-Shaped Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

(Please see our 2016 blog post for the recipe.)

Barbara Bush Cookies

November 6:Election Day 2018

We have been making cookies for Election Day events for some time now, using the presidential bake-off recipes from “Family Circle” magazine. These chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, submitted by former FLOTUS Barbara Bush, were among the first to be included in the publication’s inaugural cookie contest back in 1992. Although her recipe “lost” and her husband, George H.W. Bush, did not get re-elected, according to the magazine’s mythical prediction, Barbara Bush’s cookies have remained popular ever since the Houstonian Hotel asked her permission to put them on the Olivette restaurant’s menu.

On April 17, 2018, Barbara Bush passed away. As a respectful tribute to the late First Lady, we baked a batch of her cookies, which are also suitable to serve at social gatherings during the midterm elections.

Recipe

Adapted from the Houstonian Hotel

Ingredients

• 1 cup flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ cup butter, softened
• ½ cup sugar, granulated white
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup quick cooking oats (not instant)
• 6 ounces (half a bag) of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

In a bowl, sift together the flour, slat and baking soda. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter with the white and brown sugar. Beat in the egg. Gradually add the flour mixture and blend well.

Stir in the vanilla. Fold in the oats and chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoonsful onto a lightly greased cookie sheet about two-inches apart to allow for spreading.

Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 12-15 minutes or until the middle of the cookies have set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the cookie sheet for about 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container. Yield: Approximately 3 dozen.

Notes

• We photographed our final food photo with a red rose, white pearls and a blue background for a patriotic color palette. Barbara Bush’s favorite color was blue and she was famous for her fashionable accessory (pearls) so we placed a strand of Islander’s beads around the cookies in the late First Lady’s honor.
• We visited the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in College Station, Texas, where Barbara Bush is laid to eternal rest.
• Try our other Election Day cookie recipes from the presidential bake-off (2012 and 2016). These include both the political parties’ candidates’ Democrat and Republic recipes.
• Search our blog for other recipes for Election Day (see the Patriotic listing under Theme Menus).