Happy Thanksgiving! Corliss High School's Tender Cranberry Raisin Oatmeal Cookie and Orange Cranberry Relish

Happy Thanksgiving!

Our minds are on food this week, so we’re thrilled to share two recipes that we hope will brighten your holiday table, tomorrow and in the months ahead!

Corliss High School student chefs with their culinary instructor Lois Martin and team mentor Stephen Menyhart. . . and the award-winning cookies!

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Corliss High School’s Tender Cranberry Raisin Oatmeal Cookie               

It takes an exceptional cookie to stand out in a festive room filled with hundreds of food-loving guests and 15 teams of very talented student chefs. The Tender Cranberry Raisin Oatmeal cookie designed by the young bakers of Corliss High School did just that, winning the coveted Audience Choice Award for favorite cookie at HSC’s Cooking up Change healthy cooking contest.  Just one taste and you’ll understand why: this chewy, flavorful cookie is perhaps the perfect treat!

Many thanks to the student chefs of Corliss High School for sharing this exceptional cookie recipe!

Ingredients

¾ c. unsalted butter
¼ c. trans fat free vegetable shortening
1 ¾ c. brown sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
1/8  tsp ground allspice
½ tsp salt
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
3 tbsp dark corn syrup
1 c. dried cranberries packed
1c. golden raisins
1c. chopped walnuts
2c. white whole wheat flour
2 c. rolled oats
1c. whole berry cranberry sauce

Instructions

1. In a large bowl combine butter, shortening, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices, salt, vanilla beating until smooth.
2. Add eggs one at a time beating well at each addition, then add corn syrup.
3. Stir in the fruits and nuts, then flour beating gently until well combined.
4. Add the oats last until thoroughly distributed throughout the bowl.
5. Before panning put thumb print in each cookie and add cranberry sauce to the center.

Bake cookies at 350 F for approximately 10 minutes, or until they are slightly brown around the edges but still soft to the touch.

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Chef Stephen’s Orange Cranberry Relish

There are plenty of other foods to stress about on Thanksgiving Day, so try this uber-simple cranberry orange relish. Its unusual taste results from blending the whole oranges, including the rind, into the relish.

This makes a tart but delicious side dish to the heavy fare typically featured at a Thanksgiving spread. This relish will keep well in the fridge for up to a week, so it can also be slathered on post-Thanksgiving Sandwiches as a delicious condiment.

Many thanks to Chef Stephen Menyhart, team mentor for the Corliss High School team, for sharing this recipe!

Ingredients & Instructions

In a blender, place the following:

2 large oranges (washed and cut into quarters, including the skin)
4 cups fresh cranberries, rinsed
2 cups sugar

Pulse in blender until mostly smooth. Serve Cold.

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Enjoy!

Corliss High School student bakers share tastes of their award-winning Tender Cranberry Raisin Oatmeal Cookie at Cooking up Change on Oct. 29