The White House starts preparing for the Christmas season in July, but this year we’re betting one thing won’t be on the menu: those acorn-shaped cookies.
The White House’s executive pastry chef Bill Yosses talked about the trouble those cookies caused him at an event at the Smithsonian Tuesday night.
“That was a big mistake because the … blogosphere … criticized us for supporting the group ACORN,” he said. “Obviously, by making these cookies we were seditiously supporting ACORN.”
Last Christmas, Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, was delighted to see the cookies at a holiday party and the “stark symbolism,” he thought they represented — meaning the White House’s ties to the controversial group Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now — and took his story to the press.
“I couldn’t bring myself to bite into one of them,” he told Yeas & Nays at the time. He instead stored his cookie stash in his freezer.
Yosses explained the cookies were created to go along with the nature theme and seemed surprised they caused a minicontroversy.
“We got a big kick out of that,” he laughed. “There’s nothing you can do right here.”
Yosses was a guest of the Smithsonian Resident Associate Program and divulged some of his sweetest secrets. He also promoted his new book, “The Perfect Finish: Special Desserts for Every Occasion.”
On cookies, he said the White House always keeps them on hand “for people who need a little pick-me-up,” and during the Christmas season the White House produces around 20,000 of them.
