“Fond of Most Things in the Dessert Line”

President Roosevelt’s Favorite Cookies + Pies 🍰

Happy July, and happy three years of Missing Pieces! In case you missed them (or want to reread!), check out this year’s top three articles:

1.     “Merely a Fabulous Animal” (April 2024)

2.     “Working Up to My Limit” (March 2024)

3.     “Santa Roosevelt” (December 2023)

To commemorate the third anniversary of Missing Pieces and to celebrate summer baking, I’m dee-lighted to examine Theodore Roosevelt’s favorite desserts!

TR was not a man to avoid sugar. He loved many sweet foods, including a variety of cakes, cookies, and pies. Some of these desserts you’ll recognize, but others will likely be completely new to you—like they were for me.

Source: National Park Service/Theodore Roosevelt National Park

One type of cookie TR gravitated toward was a sand tart, a cousin of the snickerdoodle. The cookies were very thin—cut into squares or circles—and had ground almonds or cinnamon on top, giving them a sandy appearance.

These cookies were served at Sagamore Hill (TR’s home in New York) for Christmas, and Edith Roosevelt included the recipe in the front cover of her favorite cookbook, according to American Cookie by Anne Byrn. Below is a handwritten version of the recipe for sand tarts in Edith’s hand.

Source: National Park Service/Sagamore Hill National Historic Site

Another Roosevelt favorite was a “fat rascal,” which was similar to a scone or a rock cake. According to The Presidents’ Cookbook by Poppy Cannon and Patricia Brooks, TR enjoyed eating them at breakfast with his coffee and eggs.

Source: Wikimedia Commons/Fat Rascals at Betty’s of York, UK/Wendy Slattery

According to a 1903 newspaper article, his favorite pies were lemon and pumpkin, known in the White House kitchen as “the president’s pies.”

Source: Wikimedia Commons/Shaker Lemon Pie/Cmadler

Ironically, although TR was a huge fan of sweets, the 1903 newspaper article, which was published in Lafayette, Indiana (go Boilermakers!),  suggested he didn’t eat them regularly:

“Although he is fond of most things in the dessert line, however, Mr. Roosevelt indulges in them very sparingly. His plain living, it has been said, is accountable for his strong vitality, mental vigor and the enormous amount of work which he can get through with in the course of a single day.”

Source: The Lafayette Sunday Times, August 2, 1903/Newspapers.com

If you find yourself so inclined to try your hand at baking a TR favorite, Food Timeline has recipes for fat rascals and sand tarts from The Presidents’ Cookbook. I’d love to hear from you if you try one of these Rooseveltian favorites!

But whether you decide to try TR’s chosen sweets or prefer to stick with your own, I wish all of you a wonderful summer baking and a happy Fourth of July!

For this month’s quiz, I opted for dessert types since there are far too many desserts to list out specific names. My personal favorite dessert is angel food cake, though I’d probably prefer the categories of brownie or pie—or one I didn’t put down: macarons.