 FEBRUARY 13 • 2020 | 21

O

nce a month, the kitch-
en at Congregation 
Beth Shalom in Oak 
Park is a beehive of activity as 
members of Kadima Mental 
Health Services gather to bake 
cookies, assisted by women 
from the synagogue’
s sister-
hood.
The sisterhood pays Kadima 
$95 each month, which covers 
the cost of the ingredients and 
a small stipend for the bakers, 
who face mental health 
challenges. Sisterhood 
members then freeze 
the cookies to serve at 
kiddush after Shabbat 
morning service.
It’
s an extension of 
a program developed 
at Kadima’
s Southfield 
center, where members 
bake cookies and sell 
them in the gift shop.
Congregation Shaarey 
Zedek in Southfield 
started using Kadima’
s 
cookie-baking talents in 2016. 
The project was the brainchild 
of former Shaarey Zedek staffer 
Wren Hack, now director of 
Hazon Detroit. The Shaarey 
Zedek Sisterhood continues to 
bake cookies with Kadima.
“We enjoy these delicious 
cookies during our Shabbat 
lunch,
” said Jeri Fishman, 

Shaarey Zedek president.
After learning about Shaarey 
Zedek’
s program, Beth Shalom 
member Alicia Nelson of 
Southfield thought it would 
work well at Beth Shalom, too. 
Kadima members engage in 
a meaningful activity and earn 
a little pocket money, and Beth 
Shalom congregants get to eat 
homemade-from-scratch cook-
ies. “It’
s a win-win,
” Nelson said.
Molisia Young of Oak Park, 
Kadima’
s activities coordinator, 
says the Kadima-baked cookies 

are better than store-bought. 
“They’
re made with lots of love, 
and you can pronounce all the 
ingredients,
” she laughed.
Using Beth Shalom’
s George 
and Murial Tarnoff Special 
Needs Fund, Nelson purchased 
two hand mixers, a half-dozen 
large baking trays and miscella-

neous utensils for the project.
On a recent Wednesday, 
Kadima clients Geoff and 
Janice Grahl joined Nelson 
and sisterhood member Susan 
Friedman in the kitchen. Young 
supervised, but Geoff and Grahl 
knew exactly what to do. 
First, they measured the 
ingredients into single-batch 
quantities; then they started 
mixing, one batch at a time. 
Before they were done, there 
would be five batches of choc-
olate chip cookies and three 
batches of oatmeal, each 
batch about three dozen 
cookies.
The oatmeal cookies, 
with white chocolate 
chips, orange zest and 
cranberries, “are like a 
party in your mouth,
” 
Young said.
Cookie baking is one 
of many culinary arts 
activities available to 
Kadima members, she 
said. The activity center 
has a full kitchen and a 
hydroponic garden where they 
grow lettuce, tomatoes, cucum-
bers and herbs year-round. 
Clients plan the menus and 
cook lunch every weekday.
Young says she and the other 
Kadima staff are continually 
looking for ways to enrich their 
members’
 lives. 

Susan Friedman and Alicia Nelson, both Beth Shalom 
Sisterhood members, get ingredients ready.

Busy Bakers

Kadima members bake Shabbat cookies with 
Beth Shalom Sisterhood members.

BARBARA LEWIS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

PHOTOS BY DERRICK MARTINEZ

Kadima Activities 
Coordinator Molisia 
Young gets a tray 
from Janice Grahl, a 
Kadima baker. 

Jews in the D

ZESTY OATMEAL 
CRANBERRY COOKIES
 2 cups old-fashioned oats
 1 cup dried cranberries
 2 cups all-purpose flour
 1 tsp. baking soda
 ½ tsp. salt
 Zest of 2-3 large oranges
 1 cup granulated sugar
 1 cup packed brown sugar
 2 large eggs
 2 tsp. vanilla extract
 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, 
softened
 1 cup white chocolate 
chips
Directions: 
Preheat oven to 350 
degrees. 
Mix the oats and cran-
berries. Stir in the flour, 
baking soda and salt.
In a separate bowl, with 
a mixer at low speed, beat 
the butter and the sugars 
until blended. Increase 
speed to high and beat 
until light and creamy. At 
low speed, beat in the eggs 
and vanilla extract; then 
fold in the oat mixture. 
Fold in the orange zest 
and white chocolate chips.
Drop the cookies by 
rounded tablespoons 
about 2 inches apart on 
ungreased large cookie 
sheet lined with parch-
ment paper. Bake until 
browned, 12 to 15 min-
utes. Transfer to wire racks 
to cool.

Cookies are ready for 
the oven.

