text: In honor of Election Day and the fact The Daily Cookie debuts tomorrow, I am revisiting Family Circle’s First Lady Cookie Recipe contest. Remember back in March when they put Michelle Obama’s White and Dark Chocolate Cookies up against Ann Romney’s Peanut Butter & M&M Cookies? I received an email recently saying Michelle Obama’s recipe won. However, having baked both cookies multiple times in the past few months, I’m going to have to say it’s a tie.
  If you haven’t made the cookies yet, keep in mind that the Obama recipe on FC’s website calls for 1 cup (2 sticks) of butter and 1 stick (which is one cup — Crisco stick are larger than butter sticks) of Butter Flavor Crisco. That’s like making the Toll House recipe as written, but throwing in an extra cup of fat. So based on the reports from people who made the recipe as written and got flat, crepe-like pancake cookies, I’m guessing the recipe should read 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter and ½ stick (1/2 cup) Butter Flavored Crisco. That’s how I’ve been making it, and with that little fix, they are awesome. The mixture of butter and shortening gives them just the right balance of butter flavor and crispy-edged shortening texture.
  As for Ann Romney’s cookies, which are made with oats, peanut butter and candy and also go by the name “Monsters”, they are great and I’ve made them about a zillion times since the recipe was posted.
  So if you haven’t made either of these cookie recipes yet and are looking for an Election Day stress reliever, try both. Maybe you’ll sway an undecided voter.
  Using medium-high speed of an electric mixer, beat the butter, vegetable shortening, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until creamy. Beat in the vanilla extract.
  Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.
  In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat sugars, butter, peanut butter and corn syrup on high speed until creamy. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Beat in vanilla extract.
  In a separate bowl, mix together oats and baking soda. Stir into peanut butter mixture until combined. Mix in chocolate chips and M&M's.
  Using about a 1/4 cup measure, drop dough onto baking sheets (about 9 per sheet). Press tops down slightly.
  Just got my book at work this morning so I haven’t had time to do more than flip, but I really love all the creative indexes in the back. That’s going to be so handy!
  Anna got your book yesterday–my son ordered it from Amazon for my Oct birthday. Really like it! He was even impressed. Think I’m going to pick one or two recipes in the month to do! Congrats on a great first book!
  Congratulations, Anna, on the arrival of your cookie cookbook! I received my 3 copies of The Daily Cookie today! It is beautifully illustrated, well written, high end print, and high quality paper! You did a tremendous amount of work on all the features, multiple fonts, multi-colored text, side bar comments, and amusing note. s I can’t wait to delve in and get baking! Thank you for the many many inspiring and delicious recipes you have always shared on your blog. Love, Janet
  Joan, if you have time, let us know which cookie wins in your office. About mint chips, they’re okay if all you plan on eating is mint, but I usually eat two kinds of cookies at once and hate it when the mint flavor takes over. I just used white chips and dark.
  Hi Anna, Thanks for saving my batch of Obama cookies. I was very skeptical when I saw all that fat in the recipe. I made both recipes tonight. I’m going to bring them to the office and have people vote for their favorites, without telling them whose recipe is whose. Also, I noticed that you left out the mint chips from the original Obama recipe. Was that intentional? I followed your recipe: the mint chips sounded a little weird to me.
  I would need to go with Michelle’s cookie because I’m not a peanut butter in cookies fan. I too am afraid of shortening, but I may pick some up JUST for cookies. Also, I didn’t win Katrina’s give-away so it is off to Amazon to purchase The Daily Cookie!
  Shortening is now trans-fat free, so that’s something. It didn’t used to be. Since white chocolate and the original Nestle recipe aren’t my favorite, I’m still going to have to go with the Romney cookies–and I’ve made those and know they are de-lish! 😉
  I agree that the responsibility of picking the winner would be rather daunting–people are so passionate about food and so partisan about politics, I imagine things get very heated! But one thing I love about this cookie contest is that of the recipes I’ve seen over the years, I can’t think of one that really sounded bad, Democrat or Republican. It’s kind of heartening to think that I could still say, if I met Ann: “you know, we disagree on many issues, but we can at least agree that peanut butter in cookies is pretty awesome.” I feel sorry that Michelle’s otherwise great recipe had a typo in it, though, when it was originally printed. I need to get over my fear of shortening and I want to try the Monsters although I’m tempted to use peanut butter M&Ms.
  My copy of your book ships out tomorrow…yipppeee! 🙂 I love the Monster Cookies because they are something just a little bit different. Thank you, Anna, for reposting the recipes. Now they are both in the same place. 🙂
  Hope, I’ll be curious to hear how the Brazilian versions of American First Lady cookies work. It’s interesting to get feedback on how ingredients vary in different countries. You’d think flour would be flour and butter would be butter, but there are sometimes differences.
  Karen, I find the butter flavoring in BFC a little strong. I do like it in the Obama cookies because only half the usual amount is used and it adds a nice backdrop flavor. However, regular shortening works just fine.
  I would have hated to have been on the Family Circle’s judging team. I really like both types of cookies! But my favorite would still have to be…. Dang it, it’s a tie. LOL. I’m looking forward to trying both recipes out. I don’t have butter flavored Crisco, so it will be interesting to see if that makes much difference in the Obama recipe.
  Since I live in Brazil I did not know about this cookie “competition”. I look forward to trying them both.
  Thanks for this topical post! I have to say that as there are more non-peanut eaters in my family, Obama recipe will probably win in my household! Also, I’ve been following your blog for a few years now and I am so happy to hear about your cookbook!
  Interesting that your decision on the cookies is a tie when the actual election results is about that close, too, so I hear. 😉
  Waiting for tomorrow with baited breath. And the winner of my Daily Cookie book giveaway has been notified and will get the book shipped tomorrow!
  Cheryl, have you ever made your recipe with all butter vs. the butter shortening mix? If so, I’ll bet you could tell the difference in texture. I don’t recommend using shortening for ALL chocolate chip cookie recipes because some versions, depending on ratios, are great with 100% butter. However, recipes using the Toll House ratios (or close to) really seem better with 1/2 shortening.
  I have always made my CC cookies with half butter and half butter Crisco. I like the flavor and the way they set up. I make a small recipe using 1/4 c butter, 1/4 cup Crisco, 1/3 cup each brown and white sugar, 1 cup 1 T flour and 1/2 teaspoon each of baking soda and vanilla. Makes about 22-24 small cookies.
  When the temperature drops and the fireplaces light up, celebrate with a mug of hot chocolate and one of our winter cookie gifts. Our Snowflake Ice cookie favors and Winter Wonderland cookie basket are just some of our unique and fresh-baked winter cookies. With same-day shipping, you can get your cookies before you can say snow day.
  I know what you are thinking. Just lentils? You aren't including the other pulses? Why oh why would you devote a whole cookbook to lentils?
  Well, why not? I'm mean, really. They are an inexpensive form of plant protein. They are full of fiber and very nutritious. Honestly, we should all be eating more lentils (and other pulses).
  But this just isn't a cookbook with a bunch of soup an stew recipes. No, I actually bake with lentils. And sprout them. Brine them. Put them in salads. Cake. Cookies. And discuss them in detail -- give you the full nitty gritty about this little legume that is found in cuisines around the world.
  If you are looking for ways to incorporate more vegetarian cuisine or recipes into your repertoire, then you need this book. I amassed over 40 recipes featuring lentils. But I still have more recipes and ideas for them, so perhaps there will be a part 2 in the future. Maybe I'll even bring in some of their pulse cousins, like chickpeas.
  Place the lentils in a saucepan. Cover with water by 2 inches. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer until soft, about 20-25 minutes. Drain off the liquid. Let the lentils cool for 10-15 minutes. Place them in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Save 3/4 cup of the lentil puree for the recipe. Any remaining puree can be refrigerated (for up to 4 days) or frozen (for up to 6 months) for later use.
  In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla. Mix well to combine. Stir in the lentil puree. Add the flour mixture and mix until well combined.
  Drop by spoonfuls onto a baking sheet. Bake for 10-13 minutes. Remove from pan and cool cookies on a wire rack.
  Will Goldfarb showcases a menu of desserts and fine pastry work at Room4Dessert in Ubud, Bali, with an approach inspired by local ingredients and stunning surroundings. In this, his first book, with a foreword by Albert Adri , Goldfarb lifts the curtain on his creativity, revealing the processes that form the basis of his stand-out desserts, exploring taste, texture, and flavor. Home cooks can master basic recipes with the aid of step-by-step photography, then enter his creative world to see how staples can be turned into stunning masterpieces.
  Critically acclaimed by industry professionals and peers alike, Will Goldfarb has worked in the kitchens of famous names such as Ferran Adria, Tetsuya Wakuda, Paul Liebrandt, and Morimoto. Originally from New York State, Goldfarb trained at Le Cordon Bleu before working at elBulli. He originally opened Room4Dessert in New York, then relocated the restaurant to Bali, Ubud.
  Did you know that you can change the columns that appear in many of the grids displayed by windows opened from the menus of records? For example, open the “Work” window of one of your assets (“View” menu > Work). This window contains a grid listing all of the asset’s work records. You can change which columns appear in this grid, the sequence of the columns, and the sort order of the listed work records.
  Grids that are able to be changed are listed in “Form Setup” underneath the record type that owns them. System Configuration has two areas for Form Setup:
  After selecting “Grids” under the record type of your interest, you may see a “Record Type” picklist at the top of the right pane. Be sure to select the specific record type with the grids you wish to access. For example, after highlighting “Assets” you may wish to specify “System” assets.
  Many grids have the same name, making it is easy to accidentally configure the right grid for the wrong record type. This is why it is important to make an accurate selection of the Record Type.
  After selecting and opening the desired grid for the correct record type, you can modify the choice and sequence of columns, as well as the list’s sorting order. These changes will be visible to all users.
  When you are done, SAVE your changes and leave the Grid Columns Window open. This will be convenient if you wish to make further changes after seeing the result.
  View the results of your changes by opening a record of the same type that you modified, opening the appropriate menu, and selecting the menu item that displays the grid. If no further changes are needed, remember to close the Grid Columns Window.
  For further information, consult your Blue Mountain RAM Administrator Manual. If necessary, please contact our friendly Support Technicians at techsupport@coolblue.com with questions. Also, please enjoy calling and speaking with your Regional Sales Manager (RSM) at 800-982-2388 if you are interested in Blue Mountain RAM training or services.
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