First Lady Bake-Off
{{Short description|American baking competition (1992–2016)}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
The First Lady Bake-Off, renamed the Presidential Cookie Poll in 2016, was a baking competition held by Family Circle from 1992 until 2016 between the spouses of leading presidential candidates. It originated after Hillary Clinton made a political gaffe which was interpreted by some as disparaging baking or housewives. The competition later became known for frequently mirroring the results of presidential elections. It was canceled after Family Circle went out of business in 2019.
History
= Background =
The competition was inspired by a political gaffe made by Hillary Clinton in 1992 during her husband Bill Clinton's presidential campaign. In response to questions about her career and the Whitewater controversy,{{Cite web |last=By |date=2000-11-13 |title=LOVE HER OR HATE HER, HILLARY IS ONE TOUGH COOKIE |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-2000-11-13-0011130127-story.html/ |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=Orlando Sentinel |language=en-US}} she stated that "I suppose I could have stayed home and baked cookies and had teas, but what I decided to do was to fulfill my profession, which I entered before my husband was in public life".{{Cite web |title=Working Moms, First Ladies and Recalling Hillary Clinton's 'Baking Cookies' Comment |url=http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/04/working-moms-first-ladies-and-recalling-hillary-clintons-cookies |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=ABC News |language=en}} These remarks were controversial, and were perceived by some as a slight on housewives.{{Cite web |date=2008-06-20 |title=How the cookie crumbles: the great first lady bake-off |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/how-the-cookie-crumbles-the-great-first-lady-bakeoff-851694.html |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=The Independent |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=The TIME Vault: April 20, 1992 |url=https://time.com/vault/issue/1992-04-20/page/14/ |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=Time}}
Seeking to capitalize on the controversy, the magazine Family Circle came up with the idea of a cooking contest between the wives of presidential candidates.{{Cite news |last=Keith |first=Tamara |date=August 18, 2016 |title=Cooked Up After A Hillary Clinton Gaffe, The First Spouse Cookie Battle Is Back |work=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2016/08/18/490478924/cooked-up-after-a-hillary-clinton-gaffe-the-first-spouse-cookie-battle-is-back}} The competition gave potential First Ladies the opportunity to publish cookie recipes in the magazine, which its subscribers would then bake and vote for their favorites.{{Cite news |title=Courting the cookie vote: Obama vs. Romney in the presidential bake-off |work=Christian Science Monitor |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/The-Vote/2012/0626/Courting-the-cookie-vote-Obama-vs.-Romney-in-the-presidential-bake-off |access-date=2023-06-20 |issn=0882-7729}} The winning recipes were announced in October, ahead of the presidential election.{{Cite web |date=2020-09-03 |title=The First Lady Cookie Contest has been canceled indefinitely |url=https://www.today.com/food/first-lady-cookie-contest-has-been-canceled-indefinitely-t190809 |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=TODAY.com |language=en}}
Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, said that Clinton's remarks "stepped outside the bounds of what was seen as the traditional role of first lady, potential first lady [...] the price she paid was being placed in the midst of a cookie bake-off."{{Cite web |title=Cooked Up After A Hillary Clinton Gaffe, The First Spouse Cookie Battle Is Back |url=https://www.wbur.org/npr/490478924/cooked-up-after-a-hillary-clinton-gaffe-the-first-spouse-cookie-battle-is-back |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=www.wbur.org |language=en}} Kelly Faircloth of Jezebel attributed the backlash towards Clinton's comments and the success of the contest to contemporary anxieties about the increasing number of career women.{{Cite web |date=2020-09-04 |title=The Serendipitous Death of the First Lady Cookie Bakeoff |url=https://jezebel.com/the-serendipitous-death-of-the-first-lady-cookie-bakeof-1844954726 |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=Jezebel |language=en}} According to media science professor Tammy R. Vigil, media coverage of the bake-off portrayed the women participating as adhering to traditional gender roles and published anecdotes about their domestic lives that contributed to this image.{{Cite book |last=Vigil |first=Tammy R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WezDEAAAQBAJ&dq=presidential%20bake%20off&pg=PA88 |title=Moms in Chief: The Rhetoric of Republican Motherhood and the Spouses of Presidential Nominees, 1992–2016 |date=2019-01-23 |publisher=University Press of Kansas |isbn=978-0-7006-2748-6 |language=en}}
Clinton reportedly took the competition seriously and enlisted friends to help her with baking,{{Cite news |last=Burros |first=Marian |date=1992-07-15 |title=Now Is the Time to Come to the Aid of Your Favorite Cookies |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/07/15/garden/now-is-the-time-to-come-to-the-aid-of-your-favorite-cookies.html |access-date=2023-06-20 |issn=0362-4331}} as a way to recover from the gaffe and make herself appear more traditional.{{Cite web |last1=Chait |first1=Jonathan |last2=newsletter |first2=who’s been a New York political columnist since 2011 He writes the |last3=c. |date=2012-06-27 |title=Michelle Obama, Ann Romney Forced to Share Recipes |url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2012/06/candidate-wives-forced-to-share-recipes.html |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=Intelligencer |language=en-us}} Clinton won the competition against her opponent Barbara Bush. Bush later wrote that her recipe had been borrowed from a housemate.{{Cite news |last=Heil |first=Emily |date=2021-10-28 |title=The traditional presidential cookie contest is off — but many 'first lady recipes' have long been bogus |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/voraciously/wp/2020/09/01/the-traditional-presidential-cookie-contest-is-off-but-first-lady-recipes-have-long-been-lies/ |access-date=2023-06-20 |issn=0190-8286}}
= 2004 election =
During the 2004 US Presidential election, Laura Bush's cowboy cookies beat Teresa Kerry's pumpkin spice cookies. Kerry told NPR and The New York Times that she disapproved of the recipe and suspected one of her staff of purposely sabotaging her by submitting an unappealing recipe.{{Cite web |date=2004-10-05 |title=Let Them Eat Pumpkin Spice Cookies |url=https://www.iwf.org/2004/10/05/let-them-eat-pumpkin-spice-cookies/ |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=Independent Women's Forum |language=en}} She further stated that she did not like pumpkin cookies and had never made them before.{{Cite news |last=Burros |first=Marian |date=2004-07-28 |title=UNIFYING THE PARTY: THE CANDIDATE'S WIFE; Mystery Ingredients: Heinz Kerry Disavows Cookie Recipe |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/28/us/unifying-party-candidate-s-wife-mystery-ingredients-heinz-kerry-disavows-cookie.html |access-date=2023-06-20 |issn=0362-4331}} Kerry's office claimed that they had originally submitted a recipe called "Yummy Wonders" which was rejected by Family Circle, and one of her staffers submitted pumpkin spice cookies as a replacement without consulting her. Kerry's press secretary Marla Romash corroborated her statements, saying that "If you tasted those [pumpkin] cookies, you'd think someone was trying to do you harm, too."
= 2008 election =
Cindy McCain's Oatmeal-Butterscotch cookies beat Michelle Obama's shortbread cookies{{Cite magazine |date=2008-11-03 |title=Election Prognosticators - TIME |language=en-US |magazine=Time |url=https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1856094_1856096_1856112,00.html |access-date=2023-07-04 |issn=0040-781X}} during the 2008 US presidential election, although McCain was accused of plagiarizing her recipe from a packaging for Hershey's.{{Cite magazine |date=2008-11-03 |title=Election Prognosticators – TIME |language=en-US |magazine=Time |url=https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1856094_1856096_1856112,00.html |access-date=2023-06-20 |issn=0040-781X}}{{Cite magazine |last=Locker |first=Melissa |date=2012-10-02 |title=Michelle Obama Wins Critical First Lady Cookie Contest |language=en-US |magazine=Time |url=https://newsfeed.time.com/2012/10/02/michelle-obama-wins-critical-first-lady-cookie-contest/ |access-date=2023-06-20 |issn=0040-781X}} This marked the first time in the contest's history that the results differed from the presidential election, as John McCain lost to Barack Obama.
= 2016 election and 2020 cancellation =
File:Chocolate chip cookies (2).jpg
The competition was renamed the "Presidential Cookie Poll" during the 2016 US presidential election, when Hillary Clinton was the Democratic presidential nominee against Donald Trump and her husband Bill was in the running for First Gentleman. Bill Clinton submitted the same chocolate chip cookie recipe as Hillary had in previous years. His decision to repeat his wife's recipe was criticized by The Atlantic,{{Cite web |last=Graham |first=David A. |date=2016-08-18 |title=Bill Clinton's Half-Baked Entry in the Presidential Cookie Contest |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/08/bill-clintons-half-baked-presidential-cookie-contest/496472/ |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}} although he won the competition.
The bake-off was canceled in 2020, after Family Circle went out of business in 2019,{{Cite web |last=Settembre |first=Jeanette |date=2020-09-02 |title=First lady cookie contest comes to an end after 7 election cycles |url=https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/first-lady-presidential-cookie-competition-ends |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=Fox News |language=en-US}} meaning that Jill Biden and Melania Trump did not compete against each other during the 2020 US presidential election.{{Cite web |last=Bennett |first=Kate |date=2020-09-01 |title=Political tradition crumbles as the first lady cookie competition ends {{!}} CNN Politics |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/01/politics/cookies-first-lady-competition/index.html |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=CNN |language=en}}
Results
| class="wikitable"
|+ !Election year !Winner !Other contestants !Matched electoral results !Refs. |
| 2016 election
|Bill Clinton – chocolate chip cookies |Melania Trump – star sugar cookies |{{no}} |
| 2012 election
|Michelle Obama – white and dark chocolate chip cookies |Ann Romney – M&M cookies |{{yes}} |
| 2008 election
|Cindy McCain – oatmeal-butterscotch cookies |Michelle Obama – shortbread cookies |{{no}} |
| 2004 election
|Teresa Kerry – pumpkin spice cookies |{{yes}} |
| 2000 election
|Laura Bush - cowboy cookies |Tipper Gore - ginger snap cookies |{{yes}} |
| 1996 election
|Hillary Clinton – chocolate chip cookies |Elizabeth Dole – pecan roll cookies |{{yes}} |
| 1992 election
|Hillary Clinton – chocolate chip cookies |Barbara Bush – chocolate chip cookies |{{yes}} |
Reception
The competition has been criticized by some commentators for being regressive, demeaning,{{Cite web |title=Michelle Obama vs. Ann Romney: The 'demeaning' cookie bake-off |url=https://theweek.com/articles/474229/michelle-obama-vs-ann-romney-demeaning-cookie-bakeoff |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=The Week |language=en}} and promoting sexist stereotypes about women's roles.{{Cite web |date=2016-08-22 |title=Sexist "First Lady Bake-Off" still occurs since cookies can allegedly predict the election |url=https://www.mic.com/articles/152235/sexist-first-lady-bake-off-still-occurs-since-cookies-can-allegedly-predict-the-election |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=Mic |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Purdy |first=Chase |date=2016-08-21 |title=The blatantly sexist cookie bake-off that has haunted Hillary Clinton for two decades is back |url=https://qz.com/762881/the-blatantly-sexist-cookie-bake-off-that-has-haunted-hillary-clinton-for-two-decades-is-back |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=Quartz |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2012-10-03 |title=Why the Hell Are We Still Holding First Lady Bake-Offs? Stop It. Stop It Right Now. |url=https://jezebel.com/why-the-hell-are-we-still-holding-first-lady-bake-offs-5948563 |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=Jezebel |language=en}} Faith Salie of CBS called it "retrograde tradition that began either with sexism or irony".{{Cite web |date=2016-10-16 |title=Faith Salie on the Presidential Cookie Bake-off – CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/faith-salie-on-the-presidential-cookie-bake-off/ |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}}
= Comparison to electoral results =
The competition became known for often predicting the results of the presidential election,{{Cite news |date=2012-10-04 |title=A cookie bake-off among US First Lady contenders is a bellwether indicator |work=The Economic Times |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/et-editorial/a-cookie-bake-off-among-us-first-lady-contenders-is-a-bellwether-indicator/articleshow/16663196.cms?from=mdr |access-date=2023-06-20 |issn=0013-0389}}{{Cite web |date=2012-06-26 |title=Ann Romney, Michelle Obama face off in cookie contest |url=http://www.today.com/food/ann-romney-michelle-obama-face-cookie-contest-flna847011 |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=TODAY.com |language=en}} with its results matching the outcome of five out of seven elections. The streak was first broken in 2008, when McCain's cookies beat Obama's.{{Cite web |last=Testa |first=Jessica |date=2012-10-02 |title=Can A Cookie Contest Predict The Election? |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/jtes/can-a-cookie-contest-predict-the-election |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=BuzzFeed News |language=en}} Various commentators identified key ingredients whose inclusion made it more likely that a cookie would win the competition, such as chocolate{{Cite news |last=Burros |first=Marian |date=2000-07-02 |title=It's Ginger vs. Chocolate in the Presidential Cookie Race |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/07/02/style/it-s-ginger-vs-chocolate-in-the-presidential-cookie-race.html |access-date=2023-06-20 |issn=0362-4331}} and oatmeal.{{Cite news |last=Friedman |first=Marcelle |date=2012-07-02 |title=Why Michelle Obama's Cookie Recipe Will Lose Her Husband the Election |language=en-US |work=Slate |url=https://slate.com/human-interest/2012/07/presidential-bake-off-oat-cookies-always-win.html |access-date=2023-06-20 |issn=1091-2339}}