We Made JFK’s Famous Waffles, and Here’s What We Learned

John F. Kennedy portrait

Like everything else they do while in office, the food preferences of the United States Presidents are meticulously documented. The eating habits of the commanders in chief become the object of scrutiny, and can even help shape the popularity of certain dishes. Thomas Jefferson, for instance, is credited with introducing multiple recipes to the New World, including macaroni, ice cream, and French fries. John Tyler had a popular type of pie named after him, and Ronald Reagan was famous for keeping a jar of Jelly Belly jelly beans on his desk.

The 35th President, John F. Kennedy, is no exception. In fact, among the documents on his presidency preserved in the National Archives is a small recipe card featuring his family waffle recipe. Over the years, various cookbooks requested family recipes from the Kennedys, and one that was frequently shared was this waffle recipe, which JFK often requested himself from the White House chefs.

As a lover of both history and waffles, I decided to make these waffles for myself and see if I could bring the Kennedy experience to my own kitchen. Here’s what I discovered about JFK’s famous breakfast dish.

A Classic Family Meets a Classic Dish

A breakfast staple dating back to ancient Greece, waffles are more than just pancakes with ridges. They were originally thin wafers eaten on special occasions, and, in another presidential twist, Thomas Jefferson was purported to have brought the first long-handled waffle iron to America. In the decades since, waffles have undergone several makeovers, from fluffy Belgian varieties to frozen Eggos. But no matter their shape or price, they are a quintessential breakfast dish.

It’s perhaps no surprise, then, that this recipe was so beloved by President Kennedy, who was a lover of the classics. According to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, JFK was fond of a smattering of traditional meals, such as New England fish chowder, corn muffins, and chocolate. However, he was also noted as being “a small eater and he often had to be reminded that it was dinner time.”

Making the Waffles

I was confident when I set out to make these waffles. A longtime baker, I'd consider myself slightly above novice, especially when it comes to breakfast. Waffles hold a special place in my heart. They were the food I craved above all else when I stayed home sick as a kid. The first thing I registered for when I was getting married was a good waffle iron, and now it's one of my favorite weekend treats to make for my own daughter.

To my surprise, the hardest part of the whole experience began before I even heated up the waffle iron. I could not find cake flour. My grocery store shelves were stocked with all-purpose flour, bread flour, even gluten-free almond flour, but it took three Target runs to finally find cake flour, which, as I learned, has a slightly lower protein content than all-purpose flour, making it extra fine and light — ideal for waffle-making.

Aside from the flour, the ingredient list is pretty standard, though with slightly more flair than a traditional waffle recipe. Each ingredient goes one step further than you would find in a basic recipe. Buttermilk instead of regular milk. Separated egg yolks and whipped egg whites folded into the batter instead of a whole egg unceremoniously cracked in. Butter instead of vegetable oil. Reading the ingredient list alone gives you a hint to how fluffy and rich these waffles will be.

With that said, nothing in the recipe was too difficult, especially for an experienced waffle maker. Even a beginner could whip these up easily, as long as you pay attention to the recipe.

So, that being said, make sure to read the recipe extra carefully. There are a few tricky points, such as an extra tablespoon of flour on top of the 1 cup already in there, or 7/8 cup of milk, if you opt out of buttermilk. Also, expert chefs be warned: The baking powder, which is typically combined with flour at the beginning of a bake, isn't added until the very end. Those four heaping tablespoons will give the waffles an extra fluffiness, so just trust the recipe.

Also note that these are a bit more delicate than a thick boxed mix, so you'll want to spray your waffle iron and be extra careful peeling them from the heat.

Drumroll, Please…

The end result was light, fluffy, and delicious — not surprising given the work that went into them. Like each individual ingredient, the waffles themselves felt like an elevated dish taken to a slightly higher level.

There's no sugar in this recipe, which means these aren't the sweet dessert waffles you may dream about. But add fruit, whipped cream, or any other desired toppings and that will easily make up for it — though the recipe itself advises you serve with "hot maple syrup and melted butter." That's exactly what I did, and it was the perfect topping for these fluffy creations.

I can confidently say these waffles were much better than a box recipe, slightly better than a simple from-scratch recipe, but perhaps not quite reaching the peaks of gourmet brunch.

All in all, the process was a little involved and time-consuming, but the end result was a delicious, rich batch of hot and tasty waffles. If you have a White House chef at your disposal, you might request these every day. But for this mother of a toddler, I'll stick to boxed mixes and save these for a special weekend treat.

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7 Fascinating Facts About the Prohibition Era

Prohibition Raid, 1920s

As early as the colonial era, the consumption of alcoholic beverages was a contentious issue in America. Drunkenness was generally frowned upon, and certain sectors of society believed that alcohol was nothing short of the devil’s juice. Tensions came to a head in the early 20th century, when the temperance movement (which advocated for moderation in all things), supported by groups such as the Anti-Saloon League, the National Prohibition Party, and women suffragists, convinced lawmakers to curtail what they saw as the calamitous and ungodly effects of alcohol.

The result was the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified on January 16, 1919. One year after the ratification, the prohibition of alcohol in the United States began, and breweries, wineries, and distilleries across the country were shuttered.

Initially, the signs were positive. There was a significant reduction in alcohol consumption, booze-related hospitalizations declined, and there were notably fewer crimes related to drunkenness. But one thing never changed: Many people still enjoyed an occasional drink and weren’t willing to live completely dry lives. Enter bootleggers, speakeasies, and organized crime. The Prohibition era lasted until 1933, and marked a period of colorful characters, clandestine operations, and government corruption. Here are seven facts from this fascinating time in U.S. history.

Photo credit: Credit: Bettmann via Getty Images

It Wasn’t Actually Illegal to Drink Alcohol

The 18th Amendment prohibited “the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors” within the United States, but it didn’t ban the consumption of alcohol at home. So, during the one-year grace period before Prohibition began, people — those who could afford it, at least — began stockpiling wine and liquor while it was still legal to buy. Once the cellars had been stocked and Prohibition began, there was a notable rise in home entertaining and dinner parties — a shift that transformed America’s drinking culture in a way that’s still felt to this day.

Prohibition Had Lots of Loopholes

Despite the constitutional law, certain legal loopholes existed that facilitated the acquisition of alcohol. Doctors could prescribe whiskey for medicinal purposes, making a friendly neighborhood pharmacist a handy source of booze — not to mention an ideal front for bootlegging operations. Religious congregations were allowed to purchase communion wine, which led to an increase in church enrollment. Winemakers, meanwhile, began selling “wine bricks,” rectangular packages of entirely legal concentrated grape juice that could be used to make wine at home. The packaging even came with a handy “warning”: “After dissolving the brick in a gallon of water, do not place the liquid in a jug away in the cupboard for twenty days, because then it would turn into wine.”

Tainted Alcohol Killed Thousands of People

The main source of liquor during Prohibition was industrial alcohol, the kind of stuff used to make ink, perfume, and camp stove fuel. Bootleggers could make about 3 gallons of barely drinkable — and dangerous — “gin” or “whiskey” from 1 gallon of industrial alcohol. But industrial alcohol was denatured, meaning it had additives to make it foul-smelling, awful-tasting, and poisonous. And while bootleggers found a way to recondition the denatured alcohol into cheap booze — colloquially known as “rotgut” — that was drinkable, it was still capable of causing blindness or death. On average, about 1,000 Americans died every year during the Prohibition era from drinking tainted liquor. Many estimates put the number even higher, with up to 50,000 total deaths from unsafe alcohol during Prohibition.

Photo credit: Archive PL/ Alamy Stock Photo

Congress Had Its Own Bootlegger

Like thousands of other Americans, congresspeople and senators, including many of those who had voted in favor of Prohibition, often sought out illegal alcohol. One of their main suppliers was a bootlegger named George Cassiday, who started off supplying hooch to two House of Representatives members. Demand for his services soon increased, and before long he was making 25 deliveries a day to House and Senate offices. A dapper gentleman, Cassiday was easily recognized by his emerald fedora, and soon became known as the “man in the green hat.” He was arrested in 1930 and sentenced to 18 months in prison, but was allowed to sign out every night and return the next morning during his time in jail. The same year he was arrested, Cassiday wrote a series of articles for The Washington Post in which he estimated that 80% of Congress drank illegally.

Al Capone’s Oldest Brother Was a Prohibition Enforcement Agent

Al Capone was the most famous of all the gangsters who came to prominence during the Prohibition era. Capone’s brothers Frank and Ralph were also mobsters. Then there was James Vincenzo Capone, the oldest of the Capone brothers, who later changed his name to Richard James Hart. He took a decidedly different path than his siblings: He became a Prohibition agent. He was, by most accounts, a daring and effective law enforcer, whose tendency to carry two ivory-handled pistols earned him the nickname “Two-Gun” Hart.

Photo credit: Chicago History Museum/ Archive Photos via Getty Images

The End of Prohibition Made U.S. Constitutional History

Prohibition was, ultimately, a failure. At least half of the adult population wanted to carry on drinking, the policing of Prohibition was marred by contradictions and corruption, and with no actual ban on consumption, the whole thing became untenable. So, on December 5, 1933, the 18th Amendment was repealed by the 21st Amendment, bringing about the end of the Prohibition era. The 18th Amendment made constitutional history, becoming the first — and, to this day, only — constitutional amendment to be repealed in its entirety.

Photo credit: Alpha Stock/ Alamy Stock Photo

You Can Still Vote for the Prohibition Party

If for some reason you yearn for the days of Prohibition, you can always vote for the Prohibition Party. Yes, the anti-alcohol party, formed in 1869, still exists. Not only has it championed the cause of temperance for more than 150 years, but it’s also the oldest existing third party in the United States. And while the Democrats have their donkey and the Republicans their elephant, the Prohibition Party’s mascot is the camel — an animal that can survive without drinking for almost seven months.

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5 Dizzying Facts About the History of Alcohol

Alcohol drinks at the bar

From gastropubs to college campuses, alcohol is present wherever people socialize. But liquor, beer, and wine didn’t just pop up overnight. These libations have a rich history dating back millennia. In fact, alcoholic beverages even predate many ancient civilizations — the earliest known fermented drinks date back as far as 13,000 years ago, when a beer-like porridge was brewed in a cave near modern-day Haifa, Israel.

In the many centuries since, booze has played a pivotal role in countless cultures. It’s been used as currency, cultivated in monasteries, and even distilled by America’s first President. So grab your favorite cocktail and keep reading for five facts about the history of alcohol.

Grape-Based Wines Originated in Modern-Day Georgia Around 6000 BCE

The winemaking industry as we know it began more than 8,000 years ago, with a group of farmers in a region of the South Caucasus now home to the country of Georgia. It wasn’t France or Italy that first turned grapes into wine, but rather residents of an ancient site known as Gadachrili Gora, a Stone Age village just south of modern-day Tbilisi. Archaeological excavations uncovered pottery fragments dating to the Neolithic period that contain residual wine compounds such as grape pollen and starch. These large vessels — early versions of a popular Georgian wine vessel known as a Qvevri — were decorated with depictions of grapes, further suggesting their use in winemaking. It’s believed the vessels were used for fermentation, aging, and serving all in one.

Photo credit: Science History Images/ Alamy Stock Photo

Ancient Egyptian Workers Were Paid in Beer

The ancient Sumerian people of Mesopotamia (near modern-day Iraq) created the first recorded evidence of barley beer around the year 3400 BCE (though beer likely dates back thousands of years earlier). In the centuries that followed, these early and popular beer-like beverages sprung up throughout the region. Few cultures at the time loved a brew to the degree of the ancient Egyptians, however; they treated the beverage as a key component of their everyday diet, as many meals consisted of just beer and bread. Wine was also popular in Egypt at the time, though it was often reserved for members of upper-class society, making beer more popular among those in the working class. Workers along the Nile River were even paid with an allotment of beer, as it was considered safer to drink than water from the polluted river. These libations were often flavored with additives such as dates and olive oil, only adding to their deliciousness at the time.

Champagne Pioneer Dom Pérignon Was a Benedictine Monk

Though he’s best known today for being the namesake of a famous fancy Champagne brand, Dom Pérignon was once a humble Benedictine monk living in 17th-century France. Pérignon was born in 1638 in France’s Champagne region, and though some sources erroneously credit him with inventing sparkling wine, he undoubtedly helped improve its production methods while living at the Abbey of Hautvillers. Pérignon made his way to the monastery in 1668, and at the time, Champagne’s wines were deemed inferior in color, quality, and flavor to products from the more popular wine regions of Burgundy and Bordeaux.

Pérignon worked to improve the region’s winemaking reputation — he invented a press to make clear wine from dark grapes, and reintroduced corks as reliable seals for bottles. Ultimately, however, it was Pérignon’s work on a process known as “méthode champenoise” (roughly translating to “the Champagne method”) that solidified his legend. He sought to better understand how the region’s cold weather impacted wine, and how the buildup of carbon dioxide caused certain bottles to explode. Pérignon went on to produce fizzy wines that the French were initially less fond of, but proved to be extremely popular with his English customers.

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George Washington Ran a Successful Whiskey Distillery

The history of whiskey long predates the United States, as the first written record of any whiskey liquor dates back to 1324 in a medieval manuscript known as the Red Book of Ossory from Kilkenny, Ireland. Over the next several centuries, the liquor expanded internationally, becoming one of the most popular alcohols in America. In 1797, one very famous American opened up a whiskey distillery of his own: the first President of the United States, George Washington.

After stepping down from the presidency earlier that year, Washington was encouraged by his plantation manager James Anderson to use the vast expanse of his Mount Vernon estate to open a whiskey distillery. Anderson believed doing so would be a wildly profitable endeavor, and he was right. A stone house large enough to contain five whiskey stills was built on the founding father’s estate in October 1797, and by 1799 the distillery was producing nearly 11,000 gallons of the liquor. That’s a sizable chunk larger than the 650 gallons produced on average by other Virginia-based distilleries at the time, making Washington’s distillery among the largest in the nation. Mount Vernon produced whiskeys flavored with additives such as cinnamon, not to mention some apple and peach brandies as well. The distillery forwent the bottling process, instead delivering the drink to local merchants in 31-gallon wooden barrels. Unfortunately, Washington passed away in 1799 right as the business reached its apex, and the distillery ceased operations shortly thereafter.

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American Doctors Prescribed Alcohol During Prohibition

From 1920 to 1933, the manufacturing and sale of alcohol was strictly forbidden in the United States — except in the world of medicine. With Americans desperate to acquire libations by any means necessary, a clever workaround was devised by the medical industry. During Prohibition, the U.S. Treasury Department authorized doctors to write prescriptions for alcohol, which in turn led to liquor being prescribed as a “cure” for ailments ranging from indigestion to cancer.

These boozy prescriptions cost around $7 (roughly a little over $100 today), half of which was paid to the doctor to write the prescription, with the rest going toward actually acquiring the medicinal pint. Even British statesman Winston Churchill took advantage of this loophole, acquiring a doctor’s note for alcohol use during a visit to America in 1932. His doctor Otto C. Pickhardt wrote, “Churchill necessitates the use of alcoholic spirits especially at meal times,” allowing the Brit to skirt past America’s Prohibition laws and imbibe as he pleased. The prescriptions proved to be a massive moneymaker for the medical industry before Prohibition was repealed in 1933 by the 21st Amendment.

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A Brief and Intoxicating History of the Cocktail

Person raising a glass

A cocktail is an alcoholic drink that combines one or more spirits with other ingredients, such as bitters, juices, syrups, or tonic water. Depending on the ingredients, the flavor profile of a cocktail can be sweet, sour, bitter, spicy, or even salty. There is a mind-boggling array of ingredient combinations and names, and the libations can be served over ice, at room temperature, or on fire. Concocting one can be as simple as blending gin and tonic water over ice and adding a wedge of lime, or it can be a splashier, more involved affair, such as the Long Island iced tea.

The creation of the cocktail was inspired by punches that combined spirits, fruit juices, and spices in large bowls. Historians suspect these punches originated in the early 17th century with British sailors, who would use local ingredients from India or Indonesia to create their own alcoholic beverages. While beer would spoil during a long voyage, the addition of sugar and citrus to spirits would help preserve the punch.

In a world once dominated by beer and wine, these diverse and flavorful punches were a novelty, and the trend took off. Mixed drinks began as a way to serve a crowd of sailors or aristocrats, and evolved into individual concoctions that played with different combinations of ingredients. Today, the cocktail’s nearly infinite varieties make it the chameleon of alcoholic beverages, limited only by imagination and the ingredients on hand. The art and science of drink-making continues to be driven by innovative mixologists who create new recipes and put their personal stamp on traditional drinks that date back centuries.

What Makes a Cocktail a Cocktail?

The word “cocktail” was first used to describe a mixed drink in 1803. It appeared in a U.S. newspaper called The Farmer’s Cabinet, though the article didn’t include a definition of what constituted such a drink. The earliest definition of “cock tail” appeared in the May 13, 1806 issue of The Balance and Columbian Repository, which offered this description: “a stimulating liquor, composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water, and bitters.” The term gradually came to reference any kind of alcoholic mixed drink, and sometimes the word “cocktail” included a modifier — for example, “gin cocktail” — to specify a drink’s primary ingredient. That said, the mixing of ingredients traditionally associated with a cocktail predates the use of the word. In the 18th century, drinks combining a spirit, sweetener, water, and bitters were known to be imbibed, and bitters were often sipped for medicinal purposes.

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Let’s Talk About That Name, Though

The origin of the word “cocktail” is as muddled as a mojito. One possible explanation links the word for a mixed drink to a British reference about “cock-tailed” horses — that is, a horse whose tail has been docked or clipped to signify it was of mixed breed. Other theories include a mispronunciation of the French word for egg cup, “coquetier,” which was used as a drinking vessel by the New Orleans apothecary who created the famous Peychaud’s bitters. Some say the name comes from mixing the dregs of spirit barrels, known as “tailings,” and selling them at a low price. Yet another theory posits the name came from a horse breeder’s practice of inserting spices, specifically ginger, into the rear end of a horse in order to make the animal appear more energetic. However it came about, a cocktail by any other name would still taste delicious.

What’s So Old-Fashioned About an Old Fashioned?

The old fashioned whiskey cocktail, usually referred to as just an old fashioned, is considered by many mixology experts to be the original cocktail. In fact, the 1806 definition of a “cock tail” is the basic recipe for an old fashioned, minus the orange peel, which came later. In the late 18th century, when imported wine was expensive in the U.S., domestic rye whiskey became the drink of choice, and its harsh taste could be mellowed with the addition of water, sugar, and bitters. The simple recipe was designed to make low-quality whiskey tastier. Of course, this predecessor of the modern cocktail didn’t get its name until decades after its creation. As new versions of the whiskey cocktail (and other mixed drinks) became popular, it’s likely that bartenders and enthusiasts of the original version would make the distinction by referring to the “old-fashioned” recipe.

The Golden Age of Cocktails

Starting around the middle of the 19th century, Americans fell in love with cocktails. During this “golden age” — which lasted until Prohibition began in 1920 — a number of mixology guides were published, most of them written by well-known bartenders who worked in popular clubs and hotels. These celebrity bartenders had fans and rivals and turned mixology into a form of entertainment. “Professor” Jerry Thomas, as he was known, is considered the “father of American mixology” and was the first mixologist to take an oral tradition and put it in writing. His book, How to Mix Drinks: Or, the Bon-Vivant’s Companion, was first published in 1862 andincluded directions for mixing over 600 drinks, many of them acquired on Thomas’ travels through Europe and America. The result was a compilation of traditional and obscure cocktails, including the Philadelphia fish-house punch, Baltimore eggnog, Italian lemonade, as well as Thomas’ own signature creations, such as his flaming Scotch cocktail, the blue blazer.

Photo credit: Tatjana Baibakova/ Shutterstock

Shaken, Not Stirred

Prohibition may have ended the golden age of cocktails, but the popularity of mixed drinks has shown staying power. Cocktails remained popular in various forms ever since, from the speakeasies and cocktail parties of the Prohibition era, to the tiki bars of the 1940s and '50s, to the three-martini lunches of the '60s. A decline occurred in the late '60s and '70s, followed by a resurgence beginning in the 1990s. Modern pop culture icons such as James Bond, Carrie Bradshaw, and Don Draper have helped immortalize their favorite drinks (a vodka martini, cosmopolitan, and old fashioned, respectively), and savvy restaurateurs have reinvented Prohibition-era speakeasies. On social media, celebrity mixologists and “cocktail influencers” introduce the next generation of cocktail enthusiasts to exciting new trends, such as extreme beverages that burn, cool, or tingle, contemporary twists on the classics, and inspired mocktails that bring all the flavor without any of the booze. Shaken or stirred, frosty or aflame, cocktail culture endures.

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