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St. Jude students donate to Feed-A-Friend

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Mahanoy Area High School students are the first to participate in the YES tour held at Benco Dental

<p>It&#8217;s baking season and if you haven&#8217;t already finished creating your sweet treats for holiday parties, gifts or your own edible enjoyment, use this &#8220;12 Days of Cookies&#8221; feature as your launching point.</p><p>Most can be altered to Christmas or Hanukkah by using different cookie cutters, colored sprinkles or food coloring. In the Life section of the Times Leader, we will feature a different recipe to add to your arsenal. Some are common, like chocolate chip cookies. Some, like seed cookies were submitted from Cora Wolfe, one of our regular readers. Some are from my mom, passed down from my grandma. Others looked pretty on Pinterest and other websites.</p><p>These may not be the prettiest cookies you&#8217;ve ever seen, but we avoided &#8220;Pinterest fails&#8221; and our samplers agree; they&#8217;re really good home-baked treats.</p><p>Full disclosure, this is the first time I&#8217;ve embarked on a full, from scratch mission. But recently I&#8217;ve developed a passion for cooking elaborate meals from scratch, so I figured baking couldn&#8217;t be that much different. My friend, Maria, was quick to correct me during our recent girls&#8217; night with Jill and Melody.</p><p>&#8220;You know they say that cooking is an art and baking is a science,&#8221; Maria said.</p><p>What?</p><p>Had we drank too much wine? Was she talking gibberish? I all but failed my science classes in high school and college. But I digress &#8230;</p><p>Here&#8217;s the first of 12 recipes. We (Maria and I) call these Miracle Chocolate Chip Cookies.</p><p>Like I said, it was a girls&#8217; night. We were chatting, sipping wine and having a great evening. I was measuring flour and, perhaps, got distracted. I added a little too much so we tried to make up for that by adding an extra half an egg. Have you ever tried to halve a raw egg? If there&#8217;s a secret to it, please, let me know. We ended up adding 3/4 of an egg and made some wet-looking dough. A few more tablespoons of flour and we got a mixture of what resembled doughs we saw on YouTube. Once we added the chips, things started to look right.</p><p>In the oven they went and Jill, our pseudo-cookie expert, told us 8 minutes (recipe said 9-12).</p><p>The first batch we kept in a little longer because I opened the oven every three minutes to check on them. After about 15 minutes, we had our first round of Miracle Chocolate Chip Cookies.</p><p>We highly recommend them, but also highly recommend following the recipe with a little more diligence than we did. But, hey, we&#8217;ve been laughing about it for a week or so.</p><p>Pictured are 10 of 12 the cookies. Stay tuned for the rest.</p><p><strong>Miracle Chocolate Chip Cookies</strong></p><p>2 1/4 cups flour</p><p>1 tsp baking soda</p><p>1/4 tsp baking powder</p><p>1 tsp salt</p><p>1/2 cup white sugar</p><p>1 cup packed brown sugar</p><p>2 large eggs room temperature</p><p>2 cups choc chips (we added 1 1/2 cups)</p><p>2 tsp vanilla extract</p><p>1 cup unsalted butter</p><p><strong>Procedure</strong></p><p>Preheat oven to 375. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. In a bowl, mix dry ingredients. In a mixer (or with a beater) cream together butter and sugars. Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time, and mix.</p><p>With the mixer on low, slowly add in the dry ingredients and mix until the dough comes together.</p><p>Mix in the chocolate chips.</p><p>Drop spoonfuls of batter onto the cookie sheets.</p><p>Bake for 9 to 12 minutes, but if you have a smaller oven, less time may be required. When golden brown around the edges, remove from oven and let stand a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Corn flake wreathes are like Rice Krispies treats, but made with corn flakes and a little chocolate. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_IMG_1301.jpg</photo0><caption0>Corn flake wreathes are like Rice Krispies treats, but made with corn flakes and a little chocolate. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_IMG_1306.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Peppermint bark, while not a cookie, is still a fun treat to include on cookie trays or as a dessert at holiday parties. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_IMG_1306.jpg</photo1><caption1>Peppermint bark, while not a cookie, is still a fun treat to include on cookie trays or as a dessert at holiday parties. </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_IMG_3788.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Flourless chocolate peanut butter cookies are decadent and easy to make. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_IMG_3788.jpg</photo2><caption2>Flourless chocolate peanut butter cookies are decadent and easy to make. </caption2><photoCredit2></photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_IMG_4192-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Cora Wolfe&#8217;s Seed Cookies are a less sweet option for cookie trays this holiday season </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_IMG_4192-1.jpg</photo3><caption3>Cora Wolfe&#8217;s Seed Cookies are a less sweet option for cookie trays this holiday season </caption3><photoCredit3></photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_IMG_5927.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">No bake caramel oat cookies are easy sweet. Add in white chocolate chips for a different variety. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_IMG_5927.jpg</photo4><caption4>No bake caramel oat cookies are easy sweet. Add in white chocolate chips for a different variety. </caption4><photoCredit4></photoCredit4></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_IMG_5938.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Swirl cookies gives you the chance to get creative and colorful. Sprinkle in different colored sugar for a tasty surprise. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo5>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_IMG_5938.jpg</photo5><caption5>Swirl cookies gives you the chance to get creative and colorful. Sprinkle in different colored sugar for a tasty surprise. </caption5><photoCredit5></photoCredit5></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_IMG_5973.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">If you like chocolate dipped coconut macaroons double up on this recipe. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo6>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_IMG_5973.jpg</photo6><caption6>If you like chocolate dipped coconut macaroons double up on this recipe. </caption6><photoCredit6></photoCredit6></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_IMG_5982.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">These tart raspberry lemon cookies could remind you that summer isn&#8217;t all that far away. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo7>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_IMG_5982.jpg</photo7><caption7>These tart raspberry lemon cookies could remind you that summer isn&#8217;t all that far away. </caption7><photoCredit7></photoCredit7></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_IMG_5985.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Graham cracker caramel cookies are a little tricky, but worth the effort. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo8>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_IMG_5985.jpg</photo8><caption8>Graham cracker caramel cookies are a little tricky, but worth the effort. </caption8><photoCredit8></photoCredit8></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_IMG_5979.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Miracle Chocolate Chip Cookies are easy and yummy. Serve warm from the oven with a cold glass of milk. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo9>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_IMG_5979.jpg</photo9><caption9>Miracle Chocolate Chip Cookies are easy and yummy. Serve warm from the oven with a cold glass of milk. </caption9><photoCredit9></photoCredit9></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>A dozen holiday cookies sure to be a hit at holiday parties</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Sarah Haase</p><p>shaase@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Share with us your favorite cookie recipe or photos of your family baking. Mail it to Sarah Haase, 15 N. Main St., Wilkes-Barre or email it to shaase@www.timesleader.com.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

12 Days of Cookies: Day 1 - Miracle Chocolate Chip Cookies