Every First Lady has a cookie recipe, and this one is supposedly Hillary Clinton's. She's not known for her baking skills, but apparently she picks good cookie recipes because these are delicious. Hillary Clinton's cookies are chocolate chip cookies with oatmeal in them. Instead of just butter, the recipe calls for a mixture of butter and butter flavored shortening. The shortening helps improve the texture.
Update: Over the years the name has been changed to "Clinton Family Cookies". For the shortening, you can stick with Crisco or use a non-hydrogenated type such as Nutiva. Of course if you want, you can skip shortening altogether and use an all-butter recipe. This Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie from King Arthur Flour is also very good and doesn't require shortening. It's a little denser and less cakey than Hillary's.
Recipe
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip or Hillary Clinton's Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ cup butter flavored shortening non-hydrogenated works, or Crisco
- ½ cup butter cut- up and kind of cold
- 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 12 ounces of semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Combine the flour, salt and baking soda and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together shortening, butter, sugars and vanilla, scraping bowl often, until smooth. Add eggs, beat until light and fluffy. Stir in flour mixture and rolled oats until well blended, then stir in chocolate chips. Drop batter by well-rounded teaspoonfuls on to greased (or parchment lined) baking sheets. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden.
- Let the cookies cool on sheets on wire rack for 2 minutes. Remove cookies to wire rack to cool completely.
Michelle W. in Calif. says
A friend and I are on a quest to make the perfect "fat" (not flat) chocolate chip cookie! (a la those BIG Levain Bakery cookies) So no more room temp butter for me, I only use cold butter now and cold eggs; and I think I was "over creaming" too, so no more of that! Our first experimental ones were very close and oh so yummy! Oh yeah, fewer chips too, apparently too many make the dough spread too? And I chill the dough before baking...
Our experiments continue... 🙂
KAnn says
I tried them back in 1992 when they won the Family Circle contest against Barbara Bush's cookies (or a similar magazine). They are also published in a Arkansas Cookbook I purchased after the 1992 campaign and published in 1991..a campaign in which I proudly worked hard for Clinton/Gore.
I use Spectrum organic shortening in these and they are wonderful as is the woman! All the Democratic candiates were superb and I admire Hillary greatly whether she is the nominee or not.
Brenda says
My little brother called earlier to tell me he got to see Slick Willy in Odessa, Tx yesterday. Bill was out campaigning for Hillary. In a predominately Republican area it must have been interesting.
Julie O'Hara says
LOL. You're right, cobbler doesn't count (is it a true cobbler or an easy crisp...hmmm? does this family like shortcuts??). Ask him about health care at your next coffee klatsch too, okay?
Anna says
Brian, I agree with you on the shortening issue. As for the egg, I am in the habit of beating egg just until blended. I read somewhere that overcreaming batter is a common baking mistake and that overbeating after the egg is added is even worse because eggs hold a lot of air. Theoretically, the cookie batter has a lot of air which causes it to rise to quickly in the oven and deflate. Result is flat cookies. So I'm in the habit of not overbeating or overcreaming cookies. However, some recipes might need it. Maybe I should start following recipes? 😉
Julie, Michelle has apple cobbler but that doesn't really count. I'm not sure Obama is much of a baker. I'll ask him next time we sit down together and go over his tax plan.
Chelsea says
I guess I'm the odd man out and do think she could have actually made them. 😉
We all have a fall back comfort food recipe, and even if she's had chefs, sometimes you just want to make something of your own. Of course, this food must be cookies!
Anyways, I don't plan on voting for her. And I think it was horrid that her husband cheated. However, he was a good President, IMHO.
I think I'll cut out the shortning though, I never bake with that.
Julie O'Hara says
One more thing: I'm guessing Obama has no cookie...why not? Does Michelle have a cookie? Don't know if I can vote for a candidate without a cookie:) This may be what pushes me off the fence...
Julie O'Hara says
Anna,
Indecision--tell me about it! I don't know, I just don't know. Not that it matters any more - the FL primary doesn't count, and next time I vote it will be for whichever democrat is on the ticket. But I still want to know in my own mind if I would choose Hillary or Obama. I think her cookies look yummy, and if she wins the nomination maybe I'll bake them to celebrate, even if I do decide I like Obama better.
brian says
These sound pretty good. I'd skip the shortening since I think oats would cover any difference shortening afforded. This must be an old recipe since it's increasingly difficult to find bags of chocolate chips that are still 12 ounces. Most are 10 - 11.5 now. *sigh*. I've traditionally used your same mixing technique, though I have noticed it seems to require a little extra flour when you don't go fluffy. With so much oats, I wonder why she doesn't call them oatmeal-chocolate chip.
Anna says
Next time I make them, I'm going to use all butter. I think shortening gives me stomachaches for some reason....or else it was too many cookies.
Also, I like the last part of the quote where Hillary admits she's done a lot of tea pouring and cookie baking. I believe she has made these cookies at least once.
Patricia Scarpin says
I have heard a lot about her cookies - I think I'll bake them too, Anna!
Kathy says
Anna ...
From Wikipedia ...
^ Less than two months after the Tammy Wynette remarks, Hillary Clinton was facing questions about whether she could have avoided possible conflicts of interest between her Governor husband and work given to the Rose Law Firm, when she remarked, "I've done the best I can to lead my life ... You know, I suppose I could have stayed home and baked cookies and had teas, but what I decided to do was fulfill my profession, which I entered before my husband was in public life." See Living History, p. 109. The "cookies and teas" part of this prompted even more culture-based criticism, objecting to Clinton's apparent distaste for women who had chosen a homemaker role in life. See Hillary Clinton. Miller Center of Public Affairs. University of Virginia. Retrieved on 2007-10-01. Clinton subsequently offered up some cookie recipes as a way of making amends, and would later write of her chagrin: "Besides, I've done quite a lot of cookie baking in my life, and tea-pouring too!" Living History, p. 109
steph says
I love the fact you didn't have oats at home and had to go back to the store. That is something I would totally do!!! I guess if you do it then I can ease up on my self a bit. I can be such a kncklehead sometimes!!!!
I'm searching for something good to bake today, kids are home because of snow, we'll have fun in the kitchen!!!
Shandy says
Well, I think that the cookies look marvelous and I bet Hillary did make them for her daughter. What Mom wouldn't bake cookies for her little girl? No matter the afiliation, great baking can happen from anyone and I love your photo. . .perfect! Thank you for sharing =D
Shandy@Pastry Heaven
Muffy says
I gotta agree with jancd...doubt that Hillary ever made them.
I won't be making them either, as my husband would NEVER eat them. And not just because he's a Republican, mostly because he's diabetic.
You won't find me eating them either. I've become addicted to Trader Joe's frozen chocolate chunk cookies. They come 16 to a box, so I can bake 3 or 4 at a time---more small batch cookies. Of course, being a true chocaholic [I've been know to eat Baker's unsweetened chocolate], I like to chop up a Scharffen-Berger 82% bar to boost the chips. 🙂
jancd says
I cannot make these cookies. I doubt if she ever made them either. They may look good, but the recipe cannot be trusted. Since she likes that nasty, no morals man campaigning for her, I cannot in good conscience, make these cookies. You've a brave woman, Anna!
Randi says
I wanted to email you, but I have a computer virus and can't open outlook. I just made some butterfinger cookies using butterfinger hearts I got for 90% off at Target. The 3 targets I went to in MI had lots of great chocolate left for 90% off!!
Jennifer says
I will definitely have to feed these to my husband (the darn Republican) first, get his reaction and then tell him the origins of the recipe!
Of course, I've been on a baking spree this week, lemonade angel cupcakes for one gathering, banana pineapple smoothie ones for another, so maybe I need to take a break from the baking. (My waist needs me to)
Noble Pig says
I'm going to make these for all my Republican friends!
Emiline says
Hillary Clinton rocks and so do her cookies.
RecipeGirl says
The cookies look good, despite the source!
Anna says
But if I were in the audience, I'd probably faint!
Anna says
Joe, no.
Joe says
Should we be looking for you in the audience at the debate tonight?
Anna says
AJC, I will pack them up and give them to you. I need to move on to a new cookie. All I can find from Cindy McCain are those little boiled cookies you make in 5 minutes.
Gillian, yes you can. Yes you can.
Judy, I'm okay with shortening now that they've taken most of the trans-fats out, but I don't think the shortening did anything for these cookies. They were delicious, but I think they'd be good with all butter.
Judy says
Anna, you continue to crack me up with your off-the-beat comments about things other than baking. That's what makes your blog so enjoyable. Keep up the good work. As far as the cookies are concerned, anything with shortening doesn't tempt me, and I feel good turning these down because it makes me feel like I am casting a vote against Billary.
gillian says
Being Canadian, I can try this recipe without making a political statement 😉
Average Jane Crafter says
Obama! Obama! Obama!
Just sayin' ....
Obama!
😉
But, really ....
Obama!
these do look yummy, though. 🙂