Back to Artwork Contemplation Back to Sections Wasif Ahmed - Contemplation By Wasif Ahmed June 8, 2021 Marker Volume 1 Issue 8

Back to Articles Editorial Back to Sections Border Crisis: The Reasons Behind the Surge By Everton Prospere Volume 2 Issue 1 October 8, 2021 Image provided by BBC News In recent months, a series of migrant waves have swept the United States southern border, particularly affecting the state of Texas. Most recently, a large number of immigrants have come to Del Rio, a town located in southwestern corner of the state. As per CNN, over 14,000 migrants arrived at Del Rio, forming a temporary encampment under a bridge. The arrival of such a significant number of migrants marked an added border crisis which the government scrambles to control. However, while the Biden administration attempts to tackle this crisis, The Washington Post describes it as the biggest surge in over twenty years. In order to comprehend this rush of immigrants, several social, economic, and political reasons require evaluation. The country of origin must first be taken into account when assessing migrant surges. These immigrants have mostly come from the country of Haiti. Haiti, officially known as the Republic of Haiti, is a small country sharing the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic. In modern times, Haiti is known for its political and environmental issues. The country’s president, Jovenel Moïse, was recently assassinated in his own residence by an armed group of mercenaries. This threw the already fragile and impoverished country into more political unrest, with the government unable to control most of the country. Following this political instability, the country was hit by a magnitude 7.2 earthquake, killing over 2,200 people and crippling the already-poor infrastructure, according to The Guardian. These two examples show the type of instability Haiti suffers, in turn explaining the recent migrant surge. However, most immigrants did not come directly from Haiti; rather, the majority already resided in Latin America and South America. The Associated Press reports many Haitians fled to the United States because of an extension granted during the spring to the protections of Haitian migrants already residing in the United States; despite this, online posts communicating the extension often left out the portion of the policy that announced only migrants in the United States were eligible. This misinformation created an effect in which thousands of migrants crossed the Mexican border to Del Rio, seeking refuge. A final cause to this crisis is the stability and opportunity in the United States. One Haitian migrant, interviewed by CNN, specifically stated that “[he] wanted a better life,” which continues to demonstrate the assets the United States has to offer. To immigrants, the United States is primarily a land of freedom - a privilege that many countries do not offer their citizens. With the Biden administration attempting to handle the border crisis through court cases and deportations, the rest of the country continues to follow the headlines. With recent reports of border patrol agents whipping migrants on horseback, as well as widespread disease affecting the migrants (according to the Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, about twenty percent of migrants at the border are ill), the country watches the unstable scenes occurring at the border. BACK TO TOP

Back to Artwork Nostalgic Musings Back to Sections Sophia Song - Nostalgic Musings - 3 By Sophia Song February 10, 2022 Photography Volume 2 Issue 4

Back to Articles Science & Technology Back to Sections Must be Love on the Brain By Christina Ossa Volume 3 Issue 3 February 24, 2023 Image provided by Shuttershock With Valentine’s Day passing and many people in developing or long-term relationships, the question rises, where exactly does love affect our bodies? Love's most significant effect on our bodies is within several brain regions. The brain is vast, and, to some extent, confusing; we still only know around 10% of how the brain functions, but what we do know well is that love makes people do crazy things. Love is almost like a drug: intoxicating, and more of a phenomenon than anything. Even the most level-headed, practical people can fall victim to being absorbed by love. The Honeymoon Stage (Neurologically) Where exactly does love affect our brains? Why does our brain sometimes react to our deep feelings peculiarly? Well, it depends on what stage of love one is in to truly determine which part of our brains is taking the lead on controlling our emotions and reactions. During the early stages of love, the areas of the brain known as the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and caudate nucleus control your dopamine levels, better known as the “feel good” neurotransmitter. Early into a relationship, you experience the “honeymoon phase,” not only because we as humans crave new things but also because your VTA and caudate nucleus release dopamine in every interaction you have with your loved one. You love spending time around this person and can’t get enough of them because your VTA and caudate nucleus are spewing dopamine; even if the intense feelings are true, they are also biologically caused since the body is a fiend for dopamine at times causing you to feel almost a “high” from your loved one. Testosterone and estrogen are hormones released by the pituitary gland that causes the sex drive to activate in the early stages of relationships, which can also explain the addictive feelings that the honeymoon stage creates. The pituitary gland also releases oxytocin, another “feel good” hormone associated with love. The hypothalamus creates this hormone known as the “love hormone”. It is highly associated with love since, once released into the bloodstream, it causes many positive effects, such as activation of sex drive (in conjunction with testosterone and estrogen) and building of recognition, trust, romantic attraction, and even parent-infant bonding. All these hormones and neurotransmitters work together, forming the reward system in our brain. Other areas of the brain also releasing these hormones and neurotransmitters are the cerebral cortex, the medial insula, the anterior cingulate, the hippocampus, and (in the subcortex) parts of the striatum and also possibly the accumbens. Scientists are actually unsure of how these parts work together to cause us to act “lovey-dovey” with our loved ones. But, the most important thing to note about these areas is that they make up our reward system in addition to the VTA, pituitary gland, hypothalamus, and caudate nucleus. Not Just a Biological Phase If these strong feelings persist past the honeymoon stage, well, not only will one have a lifetime or long-term supply of dopamine and hormones, but also, you’ll have a healthy (hopefully) way of deflecting stressors and decreasing pain/negative feelings. Your VTA intensifies as more and more dopamine is released when you’re around this person; you’ll feel as though you’re immune to bad feelings, or at the very least, you’ll feel safe since you have a safety net of dopamine to either come home to or talk to at any moment. Dopamine is extremely important to long-term relationships. In a study, many married couples still felt intense “honeymoon stage” love for each other. They showed very similar activity to the honeymoon stage in dopamine-rich areas such as the VTA. Therefore, if you want to know if you genuinely have a “deep love” and not just a honeymoon stage fizzled relationship, think back to those dopamine-rich moments you’ve had with your partner early on. Are they still the same now as they were before? Obviously, a relationship matures and grows over time. But based on this study on married couples, the brain sometimes can’t tell the difference between these “stages”. Biologically, love seems to remain stable in the brain when one in a long-term, healthy relationship (or unhealthy too, which can be the issue in many abusive or toxic relationships). So, ask yourself throughout your relationship periodically, do you still have those feelings or has your relationship truly fizzled out? The Crash As much as many of us would love for this love to persist throughout our lives (as with drugs – you get used to the high), sometimes it doesn’t, and it’s heartbreaking. Whether the feelings are still there or fizzled out, your brain essentially experiences withdrawal after a breakup. But why do we experience these intense moments? Your brain and body exhibit behaviors unnatural to your usual personality during break-ups because break-ups activate your fight or flight response, thanks to a structure in the brain known as the amygdala. The amygdala bypasses the rationale of your brain and thoughts as it perceives danger and life-or-death situations. Clearly, while a break-up may be painful, it is not simply “life-or-death.” But your brain quite literally treats it as such. So, when in a breakup, you melt down because your amygdala is causing your body to act as if it were dying. That withdrawal of love is so powerful that it truly causes our bodies to act in a life-or-death manner. The withdrawal can persist for months in unwanted breakups, as shown by a study that scanned the activity in the brains of young adults who experienced unwanted breakups and still felt love for their people. The individuals still sent their loved one's texts and even felt depressed for months. Also, when shown pictures of their ex-partners, the reward areas of the brain (VTA, ventral striatum, and nucleus accumbens) were activated, and dopamine was released. So, even if you’ve been broken up with a person for months, you can still feel that love and dopamine rush when seeing them or even looking at a picture of them. Another series of studies showed that the pain of heartbreak could even manifest as physical pain like a severe burn or broken arm. The areas of the brain, such as the primary somatosensory cortex (S1), the secondary somatosensory cortex (S2), the anterior cingulated cortex, the insular cortex, the and the prefrontal cortex, and the thalamus, are activated as a result of the pain of heartbreak. These areas of the brain are associated with pain and activate when you are in physical pain, so even in breakups, it can be as if you’ve broken your arm. Endorphins are released as a result of the pain, and the pain persists until the endorphins act to calm your body and mind down. Love is a Biologically Taxing Process Love is complicated, even biologically. There’s still so much to learn about how love manifests in our brains and bodies, but the most crucial advice to take away is to enjoy love while it lasts. If it does last, keep enjoying it. Be with your loved one, endorse those dopamine releases, and enjoy the moment. And if that love ends, if you experience the crash, know that it’s normal and okay to feel those heart-wrenching emotions and pain. Think of it like a broken arm: you need time to heal it. So, love is not just an experience that possesses our brains and causes our bodies to act out of wack. It’s complicated but beautiful. Therefore, appreciate love because your body and brain work very hard to make it happen. References: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-goes-on-in-our-brains-when-we-are-in-love/#:~:text=More%20specifically%2C%20in%20a%202012,VTA )%20and%20the%20caudate%20nucleus . https://www.filmsforaction.org/articles/the-neurobiology-of-love-and-relationships/ https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/what-does-love-do-to-our-brains#Where-in-the-brain-is-love ? https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/22618-oxytocin https://bigthink.com/neuropsych/breakup-neuroscience/ https://www.physio-pedia.com/Chronic_Pain_and_the_Brain#:~:text=Studies%20using%20functional%20MRI%20have,prefrontal%20cortex%20and%20the%20thalamus . https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/23040-endorphins#:~:text=Endorphins%20are%20hormones%20that%20are,reduce%20stress%20and%20improve%20mood . BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Science & Technology Back to Sections What Happened to DART? By Cody Sung Volume 3 Issue 1 November 7, 2022 Image provided by NASA While NASA was busy with many attempts to launch their Moon rocket in their Artemis 1 mission [1], they were also getting ready to crash a $314 million spacecraft into an asteroid [2]. The mission is named the Double Redirection Asteroid Test, or as it is commonly known, DART. NASA is conducting this mission to test whether spacecraft have the capability to change the orbit of an asteroid that could crash into Earth. According to NASA; however, the asteroid that DART crashed into, Dimorphos , doesn’t pose a threat to Earth [3]. Despite this, the mission would still provide useful information for scientists. By hurling DART at Dimorphos , NASA estimated that it would shorten its orbit time by around 1%, or 10 minutes [4]. Luckily, we likely won’t need to test this out soon, since according to NASA, there are no known asteroid threats to Earth for the next century [5]. Work beyond the initial conceptual phases for DART began in June 2017, and the final design and assembly phase began in August 2018. The spacecraft weighed 1,340 pounds, and its cargo includes devices needed for the mission such as sensors for navigation, a camera, an onboard computer for crash trajectory calculations, solar arrays, an antenna, and an ion thruster [6]. During the journey to Dimorphos , it had to carry an Italian spacecraft, LICIACube, which would be used to study the effects of DART’s impact. Despite all that the DART team had to accomplish, the spacecraft was completed in time for its launch on November 24, 2021, from Vandenburg Space Force Base in California in a SpaceX Falcon 9 [7]. It would be a long journey ahead. Even going at about 4 miles a second, it would take the craft 9 months to reach Dimorphos. In preparation for its impact, there were many equipment tests to make sure the craft functioned properly. Everything worked properly, and two months before the impact, DART detected the Didymos system from 20 million miles away [6]. LICIACube was released one and a half months later, 15 days before the impact. Finally, on September 26, 2022, DART crashed into Dimorphos . The mission was a success. To astronomers worldwide, it was well worth the total $330 million cost of the mission [8]. LICIACube started to send images back to Earth a few minutes after the impact, showing the debris from DART’s impact [9]. In the following weeks, images from more sources started to stream in. It became quite clear that the impact shortened the orbital period of Dimorphos by around 32 minutes [10]. Thanks to this mission, we now know that if there is ever an asteroid that could hit Earth, we have a way to prevent its impact, although NASA scientists caution that we would have to do so years in advance for such a maneuver to be a success [4]. BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Sports Back to Sections NCAA College Tournament By Leah Ally Volume 3 Issue 3 February 24, 2023 Image provided by ESPN The NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament, more commonly referred to as March Madness or NCAA March Madness, is a springtime single-elimination competition annually held in the United States to determine the national college basketball champion. There are 68 Division I college basketball teams, the National Collegiate Athletic Association represented in the tournament. Since its first competition in 1939, it has gained vast popularity and become one of the country's most-watched annual sporting events. The champion teams from three Division I conferences are among the tournament teams along with 36 other teams selected by a committee of the NCAA. A single elimination “bracket” made up of the 68 teams separated into four regions and predetermines which teams will play each other next. At the start of the tournament 4 teams are eliminated leaving 64 teams to be “seeded”, or ranked, from 1 to 16 within its region. Seven rounds of the tournament are played to determine the national champions. The locations are determined beforehand based on venue size, hotel and airport requirements, hosting frequency, and previous attendance numbers from the venue, While this annual sporting event has been televised since 1969, all games have not been accessible to be watched worldwide and across the country until 2011. With the increase in television coverage comes an increase in the tournament’s popularity. An average of 10.7 million viewers have tuned in to the last tournament in 2022. Even among non-sports fans, it has become extremely common in popular culture to predict each game’s outcome. Every year, bracket pool competitions are estimated to attract tens of millions of American s. The 2023 March Madness tournament will take place for three weeks from March 12th-April 8th. The competition will begin in Daytona, Ohio and will continue in Houston, Texas for the 2nd round. Out of all 68 teams participating in the competition the Houston Cougars are currently the favorites to win the NCAA tournament with North Carolina, Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, and UCLA being close behind with 15/1 odds. Just this year alone, 45 million Americans (17% of American adults) are expected to wager $3.1 billion combined on the March Madness tournament. BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Sports Back to Sections Super Bowl 57 Review By Andrew Lavoie Volume 3 Issue 3 February 24, 2023 Image provided by The Analyst On February 12, 2023 Super Bowl 57 took place with the Eagles and Chiefs representing their conferences. Both teams were coming off big wins against formidable opponents in the Bengals and 49ers. Both conference championship games had some controversy, but all that mattered at the time this article was written was the Super Bowl. First off, let's get into injuries on the defensive side of the ball. According to cbssports.com star chief's cornerback L’jarius Sneed had cleared concussion protocol and would most likely play on Sunday. Another Chiefs player, linebacker Willie Gay was questionable to play (shoulder) but in my opinion whether or not he played would not make a very big impact on the impact of the game. The last injured Chiefs player Defensive Tackle Tershawn Watson would not play Sunday (knee). However, like I said earlier, neither of the injured chiefs players, on the defense at least, would change anything. Similar to the Chiefs, the Eagles did not have any injured defensive players that would make an impact on the game individually. Despite that, many of those injuries were to players on the defensive line, who, despite not being very successful individually, have made this Eagles defensive line a force to reckon with this season. Now, onto the offensive side of the ball. The Chiefs had several key injuries to their wide receiver unit including Juju Smith-Schuster and Kadarius Toney, and both players were questionable to return while Mecole Hardman was on injured reverse and wouldn’t play Sunday. This may have been bad for the Chiefs as these are some of his favorite targets. However, I assumed that Toney would be cleared to play, and Patrick Mahomes still had star TE Travis Kelce to throw to. Not to mention, Patrick Mahomes's high ankle sprain which he would play on had been affecting his mobility in the last two playoff games. On the Eagles offense, there were no major injuries except for a couple to the offensive line. Overall, I think the Eagles won the injury battle with limited injuries on both sides of the ball. Onto to the overall performance of the teams. The Eagles had been very explosive, but so had the Chiefs. The Eagles may have had some struggles with one of their best units, the offensive line, due to injuries. As for the quarterbacks, both had been playing great and, in my opinion, it was up to the rest of the team to decide who wins. The defenses were both good, but the Chiefs have an edge because of the injuries to the Eagles offensive line and their overall play was better with veteran Chris Jones leading the way. In general, I thought that the Chiefs would win because of one, their overall ability, two, their experience on the big stage, and 3: Pat Mahomes's natural ability to finish plays no matter what. BACK TO TOP

BACK TO ALL ARTICLES BACK TO SECTIONS ENTERTAINMENT & MEDIA VIDEOS My Future - Billie Eilish (Cover by Ian Rios) 00:00 / 03:14 ARTICLES The Popularity of Stranger Things Mya Hans June 8, 2026 Read More Jensen McRae: An Unsung Lyricist Noa Cordova April 8, 2025 Read More Glicked: Which Movie is Better? Mya Hans January 14, 2025 Read More The War of the Pens: George R.R. Martin Versus Brandon Jasmine Roberts April 8, 2025 Read More A Dive into the Pop Music of 2024 Mya Hans April 8, 2025 Read More Party School | Jon Hart Jasmine Roberts January 14, 2025 Read More What should Rachel review next? First name Last name Email What should Rachel review? Why should Rachel review it? Submit 1 2 3 4 5 1 ... 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 ... 14

Back to Articles Entertainment & Media Back to Sections Story Behind the Shot 03 By Eva Grace Martinez Volume 1 Issue 5 February 12, 2021 Original photography by Grace Martinez Hello everyone! Welcome to the third instalment of “Story Behind the Shot”! My name is Grace Martinez, and I’m the NORTH STAR’s photo editor. That means it’s my job to make sure every article we publish has a photo that goes along with it. In all honesty, I wouldn’t blame you if you read those opening sentences and assumed I spend every waking hour on Instagram. It’s an app full of people sharing stunning photography, so why wouldn’t I be? In truth, I had to reset my password to even write this article. Instagram is far from my favorite social media platform, but when given a shot to talk about photos I’m proud of, I knew I couldn’t waste the opportunity. I should also probably address the other interesting thing about my account; there are no photos of my face. This wasn’t some kind of intentional faceless aesthetic. I just spend too much time behind a camera to capture anything of me in front of it. With that being said, let’s dive into some photos. First up is one of my more recent photos, which features a heavily edited view out a suburban window and a sky full of clouds captured mid sunset. This photo was taken after I had spent the day helping to clean up around the house. I remember seeing the sunset and finally being able to relax. It’s cliché, but there’s something about a sky turning to gold that just puts me at ease. Sadly though, those golden rays don’t always capture well on iPhone cameras. So, I began editing, and although I had planned to keep the editing minimal, one mis-click in lightroom later, I was stunned. Something about the intensity of the colors seemed too good to pass up, and on to my Instagram feed it went. Second is a photo of a girl mid aerial, performing directly in front of a bright colored mural. This photo is still one of my favorites even years after I originally took it. This was the first photo that made me realize that people took pictures as more than just a way to keep track of things. There was an art to this, and it was a skill I wanted to learn. Even to this day I still love the contrast between all the colors in the photo. There are a few things that scream amateur to me now, such as the fact that my friend is facing the opposite direction, but I can’t help but love it due to all the happy memories it holds. If you have even spoken to me once, you’ve heard me mention going to a concert. I have no shame in admitting it, I love live music (even if my bank account doesn’t). This last photo was taken in November of 2019, at the last concert I went to before the pandemic. It isn’t the most high-resolution photo I’ve ever taken, but it’s chock full of memories and some pretty cool-colored lighting. The way the blue spotlight can be seen faintly on the side of the image, and then how everything is so blue it almost hurts amazes me every time. Concert photos are often hard to take because of low lighting, and the movement of the crowds/artists. To have this one come out well was amazing, and I still take so much pride in the fact that this is the raw photo, completely unedited. If you’d like to write our next “Story Behind the Shot,” please contact our Media and Entertainment Editor Garrick Neuner or our Chief Editor Mrs. Mansfield! BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Feature Back to Sections Desserts to Celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride By Christina Ossa Volume 1 Issue 8 June 8, 2021 Image provided by Claire Nolan With Pride Month just around the corner this June, what would be a better way to celebrate than to bake some special desserts that represent either your sexual orientation or the orientation you prefer to represent? While one may not be my own, these recipes are sure to help you celebrate the many different sexualities and preferences this month and will leave you satisfied in terms of taste as well. Also, baking these delicious treats to celebrate with family and/or friends is also an amazing way to show your support or to express your identity this month! While I did not have a chance to bake anything special for this article, I’ll be baking these recipes that I’ve tried in the past couple of years again to celebrate and commemorate Pride Month. Also, being part of the LGBTQ+ community motivated me to find a unique way to celebrate my pride, and while this method may not work for everyone, it definitely is an enjoyable way to commemorate PRIDE for all orientations this month! Rainbow Sprinkle Cinnamon Rolls: While cinnamon rolls may seem like a more challenging recipe to attempt, if you follow the directions carefully and give your best effort, these will impress you. Though this recipe is not my own, I’ve made this recipe during pride month last year as well as other times throughout the past couple of years since I discovered it. The roll itself is extremely rich and airy; the buttery flavor you can taste is amazing and melts in your mouth. The frosting, which I added from my own regular cinnamon roll recipe, is also an amazing compliment to the bun. While the bun is more buttery and light, the filling compliments this with its sweetness as well as the frosting which gives a creamy aspect to the dish. Though this recipe will take effort, the payoff is worth all of the work since you end up with an incredibly delicious cinnamon roll that just drives you to want more. Dough: 1 ¼ cups warm water 1 package active dry yeast 1 box vanilla cake mix 2 ¼ cups flour (set aside the ¼ cup for rolling out the dough) 2 tbsp rainbow sprinkles Filling: 6 tbsp butter 1 ½ tbsp sugar ½ tbsp cinnamon ¾ cup brown sugar 2 tbsp rainbow sprinkles Frosting (My own): 4 oz cream cheese (preferably softened) 2 tbsp melted unsalted butter 4 tbsp milk (add more if consistency is too thick) 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 cup powdered sugar (*recipe except the frosting is not my own, credits go to Claire Nolan from the Tasty Team*) Instructions: Pour yeast evenly over the warm water and let it bloom for 5 minutes. In a bowl, combine cake mix and 2 cups (255 g) of flour, then pour in the yeast mixture. Stir until it starts to come together, then add the sprinkles. Gently knead the dough together into a ball. Cover with a towel and let the dough rise for 1 hour in a warm place. During the resting hour, combine the ingredients for the filling in a medium-sized bowl, creating a type of cinnamon-sugar butter spread. Place dough on a floured surface and sprinkle with the remaining ¼ cup (30 g) of flour. Knead until it is no longer sticky (some extra flour may be needed). Roll out the dough into an oval shape and spread the cinnamon-sugar butter mixture onto one side of the dough. Preheat oven to 350°F Starting at the bottom of the widest end, roll dough and cut into 1 ½ to 2-inch pieces and place in a baking dish; cover with plastic wrap, and rest for 30 minutes After 30 minutes, place the baking dish in the oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown Mix the ingredients for the frosting Once the cinnamon rolls are done, drizzle the rolls with frosting and, if you would like, more rainbow sprinkles! *Optional* if you would like, you could use different colored sprinkles that represent your sexual orientation Once cooled down, serve and enjoy~ Pride Frosted Bar Vanilla Cookies: Although I have written about this recipe before, it will be a bit modified this time in terms of preparation. I’ve modified this recipe so that it’s in the form of a bar instead of a circular or other shapes, which makes preparation a bit easier in my opinion. While I haven’t made this recipe in a while, the cookie itself is extremely buttery, flaky, and the perfect amount of sweet. The sweet frosting also compliments the more buttery cookie as well, as it adds a level of sweetness as well as a more creamy taste. This is also a perfect recipe to represent your orientation’s flag since you could customize the colors you’d like you frost onto the cookie with the frosting and put your desired flag’s colors in the form of sprinkles as a topping! This recipe is not only delicious and fulfilling to celebrate pride, but it is also more low-maintenance and doesn’t require any piping or forming of certain cookie shapes. Cookie Dough: 3 ⅓ sticks butter 1 ¼ cups powdered sugar 1-2 large eggs 3 ¼ cups flour 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract A pinch of salt Frosting: ¼ cup unsalted butter (softened) 1 cup confectioners’ sugar 1-2 tbsp heavy whipping cream ½ tsp vanilla extract food coloring of choice (desired flag colors) sprinkles of choice Instructions: Preheat oven to about 320-325° Either wait until your eggs and butter are room temperature and the butter is softened, or put each stick of butter in the microwave for 10-15 seconds Add your butter to a large bowl and slowly add your powdered sugar and mix with a hand mixer, whisk, or kitchen aid if you have one Add in the eggs one by one, mixing each time you add an egg Just as you mixed in the powdered sugar, pour in the flour little by little and mix it together until fully incorporated (batter should be sticky but not so much that it fully sticks to hands) Grab a 9 x13 buttered (or bigger if necessary) (“buttered” just means spread butter, oil, or Pam across the pan so that nothing sticks) pan and place the cookie dough inside, spreading it out across the pan Place pan in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes (or until a crust forms across the top of the cookies) While the cookie dough is in the oven, combine the ingredients for the frosting in a medium to large-sized bowl *OPTIONAL* if you’d like to make the cookie have your desired orientation’s flag colors, divide the frosting into 3 or more sections and use your desired colors to color each segment of frosting Once the cookie is out of the oven, spread your frosting across the top of the cookie, and (optional) add the colored sprinkles of your choice to the top of the cookie Serve by cutting a piece as if you were cutting a brownie and enjoy~ Link for the Original Cinnamon Roll Recipe: https://tasty.co/recipe/rainbow-sprinkle-cinnamon-rolls BACK TO TOP