I'd make soft chocolate chip cookies and those jam thumbprint cookies, both without nuts. We had our church's holiday bazaar yesterday and the cookies with jam were a best seller with the seniors, as they usually are.

Hi Jo, I've got one for you, but first I'm dying to know how the gingerbread house contest went. Do you have any photos? What did you use as rope for the trim?

That out of the way, here's my favorite:

Molasses Sugar Cookies

¾ cup Crisco
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
½ tsp ginger
¼ cup molasses
½ tsp cloves
1 egg
1tblsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

Melt shortening over medium heat. Let cool.
After shortening has cooled, add sugar, molasses and egg. Mix well.
Mix dry ingredients.
Add dry ingredients and mix.
Chill for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375°. Form balls with the dough and roll in sugar.
Place on cookie sheet covered in parchment paper.
Bake for 8-10 minutes.

These are very easy to churn out....

Snickerdoodle Cookies
 1 1/2 cups Sugar
 1 cup Shortening -- soft
 2 each Eggs
 2 3/4 cups Flour
 2 teaspoons Cream of tartar
 1 teaspoon Baking soda
 1/2 teaspoon Salt
 2 tablespoons Sugar
 2 teaspoons Cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375F.
Mix 1 1/2 c. sugar, shortening and eggs. Stir in flour, cream of tartar, and soda. Chill dough. Roll dough into balls the size of walnuts. Combine 2 t. sugar and cinnamon. Roll cookies in this mixture.
Bake for 8-10 mins., cool completely on wire racks.

Here is another that would be senior friendly.

Cardamom Sour Cream Cookies

1 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs
1 cup sour cream
5 cups flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cardamom (ground), I use 2 T as I love cardamom
1 ½ cups walnuts, ground fine

Beat shortening until light; add sugar and beat until fluffy. Beat in vanilla and eggs to mix thoroughly. Beat in sour cream.

Soft together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cardamom. Add to creamed mixture. Fold in ground walnuts.

Chill 1 hour or until dough is easy to handle.

Roll pieces of dough into about an inch ball (I use a small ice cream scoop), roll in mixture of sugar and cardamom. Flatten with bottom of lightly greased drinking glass.

Bake in 350 degree oven for about 12 minutes. Remove to racks to cool.

To make it a little easier on yourself, I'd make pan cookies for at least one of your contributions. You just spread the cookie dough in a jelly roll pan (with sides) or a 13x9 pan then cut them into square cookies after they are baked.

Chocolate Chip Pan Cookies

1 cup plus 2 TB flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 6oz pkg chocolate chips
1/2 cup nuts - opt.
1 stick margarine or butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 t. vanilla
1 egg

Combine flour, soda, salt; set aside. Beat margarine/butter and sugars until creamy. Add vanilla, then egg. Beat well. Stir in the dry ingredients, then stir in the chips and nuts if using. Pour into a greased 13x9x2-inch pan, smooth batter evenly in pan. Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes. Cut into 24 squares.

(note: I would think you could double this recipe and use a larger jelly roll pan to bake in)

Shortbread petticoats are easy and well-liked. Here is my recipe, though many good ones have been posted here. Mine is a little sweeter than most.

Shortbread Petticoats

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup sweet rice flour (available at Trader Joe)
1 3/4 cup all purpose unbleached flour
pinch of salt
parchment paper

Cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and mix. Add rice flour and salt, then regular flour. Mix thoroughly.

Divide and form dough into 4 balls. May need to be refrigerated for 10-15 minutes if very soft. Flatten each ball on parchment paper with floured rolling pin making
a circle about 3/8" thick. Prick surface of dough with a fork 6-8 times. Use fork tines to mark the edge of the circle all around.

Place parchment paper with dough on cookie sheet. Bake 45-50 minutes at 300 degrees until slightly browned around the edges.

While still very warm, cut each circle into 6-8 wedges.

2 dozen+ cookies

Thanks for the recipes, everyone. The g'bread competition was fun, although we didn't win. I was really please with how our house turned out. I am trying to find out how to get a free download for my canon camera for the mac so I can post pictures. We made Snoopy's doghouse and did use the black string licorice that I finally found. The licorice was as hard as a rock and unbendable, so I did what any good foodie would know what to do. I put it in a tupperware container with a piece of bread and it became soft and pliable in a day's time.
The website for the competition is under construction and promises to be up this week.
Jo

"I did what any good foodie would know what to do. I put it in a tupperware container with a piece of bread and it became soft and pliable in a day's time." LOL, you've learned well!

Sorry that you didn't win, but glad that you had fun and did a family project. I will await the photos!

I would do either a spritz cookie or slice and bake and a bar cookie. Danish spritz and raspberry chews, for example.
Both are easy to make lots!

First thing that came to mind was Snickerdoodles..Which someone already covered.. and then definately any dough that you can bake and slice..which is alot of them!
My favorite one currently is a Lemon Sugar Cookie. I divide the dough, roll it into logs, wrap in plastic wrap and then in a few hours, or few days I bake and slice. Then drizzle with a lemon glaze. To make them extra lemony. This last time I made a lemon cream cheese frosting and filled them, making lemon cream cheese sandwich cookies...DELISH.. Easy dough to make.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lemon Sugar Cookie

I have a really easy recipe that starts with a chocolate or any cake mix.

I will post the recipe if you want. It makes 3 dozen and they taste like brownies. Very fast and I frost them with red or green frosting at Christmas with a colored m and m (Christmas) They store well and really whip up fast. I made them with youth group and we made lost of dozens.

Also, there is that sugar cookie recipe that takes oil and I believe it makes 100 and you smash them with a glass with sugar on it.

Hope that something works for you. What a nice project!!!

This is absolutely the easiest cookie ever. Inexpensive and quick:

Stir and Drop Sugar cookies:

Beat with fork until well blended, 2 eggs. Stir in 2/3 C cooking oil, 2 tsp. vanilla, 1 tsp. lemon rind. Blend in with wooden spoon until mixture thickens, 3/4 C sugar. Sift together and stir in: 2 C. flour, 2 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp. salt. Drop by teaspoonfuls about 2" apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten with greased bottom of glass dipped in sugar. (For Christmas, I dip in red sugar and green sugar) Bake 400 8 - 10 min. No mixer necessary. Just a bowl and spoon.