Who will you vote for in the upcoming 2008 election? We don’t know but get ready with this political and savoring recipe by Christine Lavin.

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“2 cups unbleached white flour
1/4 cup wheat germ (a secret ingredient - some politicians love secrets!)
6 ounces milk chocolate chips (approximately 1 cup)
6 ounces white chocolate chips (ditto)
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips (ditto)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1-1/4 cup toasted chopped pecans (or toasted slivered almonds)

Preheat the oven 375 degrees.
Chop the pecans up, then measure them. Spread them on an ungreased cookie sheet; toast them for approximately 10 minutes. They are done when you can smell them toasting. Don't over-toast them! And if you don't want to toast them, you don't have to! This is America, land of choices.
If you have chosen to toast them, take them out of the oven, let them cool.
In a big bowl blend the softened butter, white sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. Only use the best ingredients: real butter, vanilla from Madagascar. Mix in the eggs, one at a time. Do this by hand; please don't use an electric mixer. Think of your carbon footprint. Plus, it's a great upper body workout.

In a separate smaller bowl mix together the white flour, wheat germ, baking soda and salt. When that is evenly mixed, add 1/3 of that to the butter mixture. Stir till all is absorbed. Then add the second 1/3 of the dry ingredients, mix, then the final 1/3. Mix till smooth.
Mix all the chips together in a separate bowl, stir them around – look, all different color chips! And they're all getting along peacefully, like our Founding Fathers hoped we would.
Alternate adding the chips and the pecans to the cookie batter, stirring as you go, till everything is harmoniously joined together in one big happy bowl.

Now, on an ungreased cookie sheet, with a small spoon, lay out rows of small chunky cookies, leaving enough room for the cookies to spread out a little bit. It's important that you make very small cookies. Why? Because we Americans have a weight problem, but one tiny scrumptious Barackolate chip cookie won't add to it! Another reason for small cookies: so everybody gets one. Oh, you could make big giant cookies with this recipe, but then only the lucky few would get to eat them. Haven't we had enough of that over the last eight years? Huh?
Bake the cookies for approximately 10-11 minutes, depending on your oven. Makes 186 small cookies (1-3/4 - inch in diameter). Take them out when they are golden brown, cool them on a rack and then share them. You can have one, but share the rest – with everybody, no matter their political affiliation.”

And not only does she have an interesting chocolate chip recipe but a song to go with it.