Summer is winding down and before you know it, the holidays will be here.

No need to panic; we've got you covered. The 27th annual Times News Cookbook and Recipe Contest is underway!This year, after serious consideration, we decided to move our annual contest to the fall in order to focus on the fun and food that surround the holidays and take advantage of the great recipes our local cooks stir up over this festive season.Recipes will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. Oct. 5 and the cookbook will be included in the Nov. 6 issue of the Times News.Are you ready to share some of your tried and true seasonal recipes?Every entrant will receive a special gift. The winners in each category will win some terrific prizes, as will the grand prize winner.This year's categories are: Tailgating, Main Dish and Sides, Beverages and Smoothies, Desserts, Holiday Cookies and Candies, and Edible Gifts.The grand prize winner will be selected from among the six first-place winners.Winners in each category will be required to bring their finished winning dish to the Times News office in Mahoning Township, where a panel of judges will sample each item to determine the grand prize winner. Judges will consider the originality of the dish, taste and presentation.Category winners will be notified by Oct. 10. The final judging is tentatively set for Monday, Oct. 13.Mail recipes to: Times News, P.O. Box 239, Lehighton, PA 18235; Attention Donna Hall; or email recipes to:

dhall@tnonline.com.Contest rules1. Written entries will be judged for completeness, clarity of recipe and originality. In case of duplicate recipe entries, the one with the earliest postmark will be entered.2. The same recipe may not be entered in more than one category. Categories must be clearly marked on each entry.3. Recipes must be created or modified by the contestant or a member of the contestant's family. Recipes previously published in a copyrighted publication are not eligible.4. Only one entry per category will qualify as a winner and only one winner per household.5. Professional food preparers and/or purveyors are not eligible to enter. Pencor and Times News employees and family members are not eligible to win prizes. Advertisers who submit recipes in the name of their business are not eligible for prizes.6. All recipes become the property of the Times News, which reserves the right to publish the entry along with the entrant's identity for prizes.7. Winners will be notified by phone and all prizes are final. No exchanges or refunds will be made.8. No purchase is necessary.9. To enter, each recipe should be neatly printed or typed on an 8 1/2-inch by 11-inch sheet of paper, and must include (on the same paper) the contestant's name, mailing address and telephone number, as well as the name of the recipe and the category. Recipes should include the ingredients, listed in order of use, and the instructions should be clear and written in complete sentence form.10. Every entrant will receive a Times News gift.