Ann Romney (L) and Michelle Obama speak during a "Conversation with Presidential Spouses" discussion at the Women's Conference 2007 held at the Long Beach Convention Center on October 23, 2007 in Long Beach, California.
As the 2012 presidential race continues to heat up, prepare for the latest major plot point. First Lady hopeful Ann Romney is battling it out with current FLOTUS Michelle Obama in Family Circle‘s Presidential Cookie Bake-Off.
In one corner: Michelle’s white and dark chocolate chip cookies. In the opposite corner: Ann’s M&M cookies. A Family Circle magazine tradition, this year the competition has moved to Facebook, where fans can cast their vote for the sweetest presidential treat. Obama, a noted advocate of healthy eating, says her cookies are “the perfect special treat” when you’re looking to “splurge.” Romney says hers “smell delicious coming out of the oven” and her grandkids “can’t resist them.” Sounds like a tough call.
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The first such bake-0ff took place in 1992, when Hillary Clinton’s oatmeal chocolate chip cookies trumped Barbara Bush’s classic chocolate chip recipe. And in 1996, Clinton entered the same recipe again, beating out Elizabeth Dole’s pecan rolls. The only Family Circle winner who didn’t later end up in the Executive Residence as First Lady was Cindy McCain, whose oatmeal butterscotch treats beat out Michelle Obama’s lemon zest shortbread cookies in 2008. Some say the idea that a potential First Lady should be judged by her kitchen skills is “demeaning” — let’s not forget it was Clinton herself who infamously angered American housewives with her disparaging remarks about staying home and making cookies. But the bake-off continues to be a popular tradition; more than 19 million readers have baked and tested the recipes, according to MSNBC.
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