FDR's Favorite Breakfast During His White House Terms

The favorite foods of the U.S. presidents can be a fascinating look into the mundane or sometimes even bizarre, but most people are not going to have a hard time relating to Franklin Delano Roosevelt's most beloved White House Breakfast. Some presidential foods are famous — think Thomas Jefferson's love of mac and cheese — while more often they reflect the taste of the times. 19th-century leaders filled their plates with cornmeal pancakes, hoppin' john, and pickled herring, while more recent presidents are more likely to name ice cream or cheeseburgers as their go-to treat — although the less said about Richard Nixon's cottage cheese and ketchup, the better. Straddling the line between an old-school pre-war America and our modern world, FDR liked a range of foods we would recognize today, and some that are almost forgotten, but his favorite breakfast manages to be timeless: the jelly donut.

Presidents may not have it easy, especially dealing with the Great Depression and World War 2, but Roosevelt's breakfasts sound like the height of simple luxury, as he would take his freshly made donuts on a tray in his room with coffee. The donut was a Berliner pfannkuchen, which is a German-style variety that's filled with jam and dusted with sugar. And yes, it's the same style of donut John F. Kennedy supposedly called himself in his famous "Ich bin ein Berliner," speech, although that is actually a myth and President Kennedy's usage was proper and not referring to the pastry.

Despite coming from a very wealthy and connected New York family, Frankin Delano Roosevelt had a taste for more simple food that was popular in the mid-20th century. Roosevelt's favorite sandwich was the humble grilled cheese, and he also loved hot dogs, scrambled eggs, and chowder. In fact, most of the recipes served were actually family recipes for basics like corned beef hash – no professional chefs needed. The one thing Roosevelt was particular about with breakfast was the coffee that was served with his donuts. The president would have the coffee maker brought into his room so he could make it himself, and green coffee beans were roasted fresh in the White House kitchen to make a dark French roast.

You don't need to be a president or a highly skilled baker to enjoy your own Berliner pfannkuchen for breakfast either, as the simple fried and jam-filled confections are common homemade donuts in Germany. You can actually follow our recipe for raspberry-filled Polish paczki, which is almost identical to Berliner pfannkuchen. They only require a basic enriched dough and a few hours to make. You may not be getting them served to you on a silver tray in the White House, but they are the kind of simple luxuries FDR himself would have loved.