The heat is on, and the stakes are high, with the potential first ladies' bake-off underway and organizer Family Circle magazine looking to see which way the cookie is going to crumble¹.

In the past four presidential elections, readers of the magazine have successfully predicted who would be America's next first lady by favoring her recipe in the magazine's competition.

Something with chocolate has melted the hearts of readers in the last four elections. So both Michelle Obama and Cindy McCain might be taking a risk by eschewing² everyone's favorite treat.

Instead, Michelle Obama, wife of Democratic Illinois Senator Barack Obama, has put forward a recipe for shortbread cookies with zest³ of lemon and orange, and a cheeky kick of almond liqueur Amaretto.

The recipe comes courtesy of Mama Kaye, the godmother of both her daughters, Sasha and Malia.

Cindy McCain, who earlier this year had to apologize for plagiarizing⁴ a recipe for passion fruit mousse from Food Network, went for oatmeal butterscotch cookies.

They are "an absolute must whenever the whole family gets together," says the multi-millionaire heiress to a large beer distribution firm, married to Republican presidential hopeful John McCain.

Readers can vote online at the magazine's website with the results to be published in mid-October, just ahead of the November 4 elections.

At the end of the week, Cindy McCain's recipe seemed to be slicing through the competition, with one online reader complaining that he had had to go out specially⁵ to buy Amaretto so his wife could bake Michelle Obama's treats.

If history is anything to go by, Obama might be in for a rough ride. In 2004, Teresa Heinz Kerry's pumpkin⁶ spice cookies failed to beat off the competition from Laura Bush's oatmeal chocolate chunk⁷ cookies.

Four years earlier the first lady had already set the bar high with her Texas Governor's Mansion⁸ Cowboy cookies made with chocolate chips and coconut⁹, which proved more popular than Tipper Gore's ginger¹⁰ snaps.

Hillary Clinton won in 1992 and in 1996 with the same recipe for chocolate chip cookies, whipping the competition from Barbara Bush and then Elizabeth Dole¹¹.

This year former president Bill Clinton got a chance to show off his culinary talents, choosing a recipe for oatmeal cookies from long time Clinton cook, Oscar Flores.

战火已经点燃，赌注也在加大，《家庭》杂志主办的准第一夫人烘烤大比拼正在进行，结果如何需拭目以待。

在过去四届总统选举中，《家庭》杂志读者的“口味”竟与大选结果不谋而合。

在这四届选举中，带有巧克力的配方都深受读者喜爱。不过本届大选的两位准第一夫人——米歇尔•奥巴马和辛迪•麦凯恩可能会避开人们最喜爱的这一口味，来点新花样。

民主党总统候选人、伊利诺伊州参议员巴拉克•奥巴马的夫人米歇尔•奥巴马提交的参赛作品是柠檬柑橘口味的奶油甜酥饼，她还大胆地在其中加入了意大利苦杏酒。

该配方是米歇尔两个女儿萨沙和玛丽亚的教母凯伊友情提供的。

辛迪•麦凯恩则选择了燕麦黄油甜曲奇参赛。今年早些时候，辛迪因剽窃“食品网”上的一个西番莲慕斯配方而公开道歉。

共和党总统候选人约翰•麦凯恩的夫人、辛迪•麦凯恩表示，这种曲奇是“家庭聚会时必不可少的食品”。辛迪是一家大型啤酒销售集团的继承人，身家上千万。

参评读者可登陆《家庭》杂志的网站在线投票，投票结果将于10月中旬，即11月4日大选之前公布。

单看上周赛情，辛迪•麦凯恩似乎略胜一筹。一位投票的读者抱怨说，如果他的妻子要烤米歇尔•奥巴马的那种酥饼，他还得特地出去买意大利苦杏酒。

按照“历史经验”，奥巴马可能要打场硬仗。参照以往的战果，2004年，特丽莎•海茵茨•克里的南瓜香料曲奇不敌劳拉•布什的燕麦巧克力饼。

四年前，现任第一夫人凭借其“德州府大厦牛仔曲奇饼”让对手难以望其项背，当时这款碎巧克力椰香酥饼比蒂帕•戈尔的姜汁脆饼更受欢迎。

希拉里•克林顿在1992年和1996年均凭碎巧克力曲奇战胜了芭芭拉•布什和伊丽莎白•多尔。

今年，美国前总统比尔•克林顿也获得了一次展示厨艺的机会，他选用了自家御用厨师奥思卡•弗洛尔斯提供的燕麦曲奇饼配方。

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