Chocolate haystacks are always a good choice....who doesn't like chocolate?? Very quick and easy to make - only two ingredients (chocolate chips and chow mein noodles) and no baking!!

7 layer bars! Here's a link to one: Seven Layer Magic Bars

Matzo crack

Recipe

"Almond" Bark with the stupid simple Candy-Quik and a couple handfuls of peanuts for Peanut Bark. Another easy one is to buy shortbread cookies and melt some chocolate on top (Lorna Doones maybe?). Or, if you feel ambitious - Stupid Simple Shortbread with 3 ingredients (google just that for recipes). To brighten them up use a ready-made colored "gel" frosting to make a Christmas Tree on them.

These actually take very little time. You just spread the batter in the pan, bake, then let the chocolate melt on top. They also taste really really good.

Toffee Bars

2 sticks butter, room temperature
1 cup packed golden brown sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp. salt
6 plain chocolate Hershey bars
Optional: 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans)

Preheat oven to 325.
Sift together flour and salt. Cream butter with sugar. Add egg and vanilla and beat well. Add flour/salt and mix well. Spread on jelly roll pan (about 10 X 15). Batter will seem skimpy, but will bake up. Bake for about 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately place Hershey bars on top. Let sit about 10 minutes or until chocolate melts (Hershey bars will maintain shape and not appear melted, but they are). Spread chocolate evenly over bars and sprinkle walnuts or pecans over the top. Let cool to room temp and cut into bars.

pretzels dipped in almond bark ... homemade Chex mix is easy too

Forgot to mention having the 10x15 sheet pan is worth it just for the Toffee Bar recipe.

Y'all, all of those recipes are involved, if easy. Annie's cuppa peanut butter cookies are delicious gluten free and dead easy. One batch is a dozen good sized cookies and are dead easy, don't need anything but a bowl and a fork to mix up, and a simple bake.

This is copied over from this thread https://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2421388/favorite-gluten-free-cookies:

Annie1992: I also like the simple "cuppa" peanut butter cookies, I often make them, they are very easy. I've also made them tiny and sandwiched them with nutella. Yeah, I like nutella, LOL, but I've also use a mini muffin cup and put a ball of dough into each cup and pressed a mini peanut butter cup into that, make it fancy by using a pastry bag and adding one dollop of chocolate frosting on top.

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda

1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2 Mix ingredients together in a large bowl until well-blended.

Roll peanut butter mixture into Tablespoon size balls. Bake 12 minutes for chewy cookies; Bake 15 minutes for crisp.

But, shortbread really IS easy and only has three ingredients: sugar, flour and butter. You whip the butter and sugar together, mix in the flour, lightly knead it for five minutes then roll it out and cut it into fingers, pricking each with a row of fork holes (just lines them up and go poke poke poke poke poke down the row, quick as anything). Pop them onto a tray and bake in a slow oven, and they’re a simple but delicious treat.

sooz, maybe we need more clarification on the simple, easy and tasty baked goods you asked for. What about time for mixing and baking? A bit longer can still be simple and tasty...and why I posted the Toffee Bars.

This shortbread recipe could not be easier...or tastier. And you don’t even have to bother rolling it out!

1/2 cup walnuts, toasted (I use pecans)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan

1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar, plus more for dusting

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Pulse walnuts in a food processor until finely ground. Transfer to a bowl, and whisk in flour and salt.

2. Beat butter, sugar, and vanilla until pale and fluffy. Slowly add walnut mixture, and beat until just combined.

3. Butter an 8-inch round cake pan. Transfer dough to pan. Place a piece of plastic wrap on dough, and use it to press the dough evenly into pan (this will prevent the dough from sticking to your fingers). Cut dough into 8 wedges using a paring knife. Prick all over with a wooden skewer or fork.

4. Bake until golden brown and firm in center, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack. Recut into wedges and prick again. Let cool slightly. Dust with confectioners' sugar.

Courtesy of Martha Stewart

Chloebud, I don't mind putting in a little time for mixing and baking, but I guess I don't want to put myself out very much for something that'll just be re-gifted to someone I don't know. YKWIM?

Sammy, they call that style of shortbread presentation “petticoat tails”. You can also shape a round on a cookie sheet, prick it all over with a fork, flute the edges as if it were a pie crust, and score into wedges before baking.

Pricking it with a fork lets the steam out so it gets crisp.

sooz, I do know what you mean. I guess making something I think is really good is enough for me. You should try the Toffee Bars...sometime.

The posters here are right about shortbread. It's really easy, buttery good and can be made without cookie cutters. I make A LOT of it this time of year. This is my favorite version...easy dough to work with. I like to use a star-shaped cookie cutter for Christmas, but, again, you can easily form shapes by hand. I use salted butter for these for optimum flavor.

Shortbread

2 cups flour
2 T. cornstarch
Pinch salt
1/2 cup plus 2 T. powdered sugar
2 sticks salted butter, room temperature
1/2 tsp. vanilla

First, remove 2 T. from the 2 cups of flour and replace with the 2 T. cornstarch. Mix salt with flour/cornstarch. Cream butter, sugar and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and mix until just blended. Form into ball and wrap in plastic. Chill for about 30 minutes to an hour. Preheat oven to 325. Roll dough out on lightly floured surface to about 3/8- to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut out shapes with about 1 1/2-inch cookie cutter. Place on parchment lined cookie sheet and bake about 20 to 25 minutes. Watch carefully, you want them to just barely get color (depending on your oven, you may need a little less or more time). Remove from oven, sprinkle with fine or granulated sugar, let sit for about 10 minutes, and remove to rack to cool.

LOL! Yeah, proper shortbread is dead easy. I thought Sooz meant rolled out shortbread cookies. I've only made it the way Colleen said (other than the rolled cookies)--flour, butter and sugar. Salted butter though.

But I still think Annie's peanut butter cookies are the easiest things ever, and really good eating. They take a bowl, a fork and a piece of parchment paper. Cleaning the bowl takes longer than whipping up the cookies. Though that implies using a new jar of peanut that hasn't separated. :)

plllog, I agree, those peanut butter cookies are probably the easiest thing I've ever made, far easier than even any mix or prepared concoction.

Shortbread is really easy, and so are brownies, also those cornflake/marshmallow wreaths and haystacks made with butterscotch chips and chow mein noodles.

Annie

If you’re really set on super easy, buy a couple boxes of Ghirardelli brownie mix and call it a day. ;)

It pains me to agree, but Sammy is probably right. Most people today do prefer the taste of from-a-box to made-from-scratch, because it's what they're used to, how they think things should taste.

My own daughter prefers cake mix cakes, but that doesn't mean I'm ever going to make it, LOL. I intensely dislike the "fake" tasting mixes, I can get that chemical preservative taste no matter how it's fancied up and would prefer nothing at all.

I bake because I like to bake, I enjoy the process, so if I can also produce a product that makes people say "wow, this is really GOOD", then double bonus for me.

Truthfully, though, by the time you "doctor" a cake mix, or add ingredients to a box of brownies, those 5 ingredient cookies are just as easy and a lot better. So the OP's "easy but tasty" requirement would prevent me from using a mix, even if most people wouldn't notice the difference. Allthough, in restrospect, a mix would prevent me from sampling any and thus, would save my diet....

Annie

"I enjoy the process..."

Same with me, Annie. Kind of therapeutic. :-)

What about those 'magic' cookie bars made with graham crackers, condensed milk, nuts, coconut, chocolate chips, etc.? They're pretty killer.

I've also made them using crushed plain vanilla cookies (like animal crackers), blobs of raspberry preserves mixed with a bit of lemon juice, and chopped walnuts.

https://www.eaglebrand.com/recipe-detail/magiccookiebars-3934

P.S. I just realized party_music posted a link to essentially the same thing.

I thought the idea for a holiday cookie/sweet exchange was to bring your best and get everyones best in return so you have a nice variety for the home. We don't have the time to make many varieties ourselves...

I would make two batches of a good family favorite and just take one batch to exchange. That way if you get some duds you still have ones appreciated.

Good/great can be easy. I like the idea of the simple peanut butter. I've made chocolate truffles rolled in various things...nuts, coconut, cocoa nibs, etc. And MatzoCrack.

I met a now best friend at a work exchange a dozen years ago. I made MatzoCrack that is loved by all but made a savory multi-grain cracker as well. She likes savory so we hit it off immediately. I packaged a half dozen crackers in cellophane with the recipe for something different.

I did give my MIL a Costco box of the Giradelli brownie mix with many other gifty things years ago. Really good and easy. (she had two teen boy grands).

"I thought the idea for a holiday cookie/sweet exchange was to bring your best and get everyones best in return so you have a nice variety for the home."

Sleevendog, that *is* a wonderful thing, and I do have a different group for an exchange where we 'bring our best.'

This group is a bit different, and the items they bake or make are full of processed stuff, heavy with a chemical taste, an overload of hydrogenated fats, and usually over or under baked. Sometimes, I think they bring anything they can throw together or what they may have in the freezer.

A couple of years ago, I noticed one person transferring their off-brand holiday store-bought cookies onto a plate...they must have had these cookies in the original clamshell, in their freezer for YEARS -- the container had an expiry date on the package of 3 or 4 years prior (I wasn't looking for this; the label with the reduced price of 99 ¢ was a bright yellow along with the expiry date.). Different strokes, I guess.

That's why I opted to do simple, easy, tasty this year, for this group.

I'd just forget my principles and go chemical to please that particular group. If that's what they like, then why not treat them to it?

I once even went chemical on myself, but it wasn't cookies. First time I made mayo I was worried it would separate or end in disaster, but it was a great success. Texture was a dream, but boy did I miss the chemicals! It was Sabbath and all the stores were closed. Sunday morning I sprinted to the store for a jar of good industrial stuff.

carolb, I've noticed that we often think alike! :)

Pft! Get a good box mix chocolate brownie. Put some dried cherries in them and a drop of almond extract or maybe use Amaretto or Kirsch for part of the liquid if you have it. Frost with store bought chocolate frosting and press some slivered almonds into the top. Bam!

Oh, MaddieLee, I like that idea a LOT!

Annie

Sounds like what I did with my singing group’s Secret Santa. We always seemed to end up with lame, unwanted carp, so I suggested that instead we each bring an item to donate to the local women’s shelter. I was pleased that the idea spread to our larger parent group in the city :-)

or have a winter kids clothing drive ... mittens, gloves, scarves and sweaters and jackets look great on a group xmas tree. donate them to the local school or multi-purpose center ...

These became popular a few years ago. I don't know the name of them.

Ingredients--inch square pretzels or the teeny tiny pretzels about 1 1/2 inches long, a sack of Rolo candies (chocolate covered carmels shaped like a mini cupcake liner), and pecan halves. Fill a cookie sheet with rows of the pretzels. Top each pretzel with a Rolo. Put in a 200 to 250 degree oven 5 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately press a pecan half into the Rolo. Cool to room temperature. Voila.

Sheilajoyce, Rolo turtles is the name, quick, easy and taste pretty good too.

Sounds sort of like why I didn't participate in the local cookie exchange. In this case, I've no idea what people make here (although most indications seem nut-heavy), as it would be my first year.

I can't digest most tree nuts; commercial cookies and mixes make me feel sick (I'm fine with Walker's shortbread cookies... but surprise, only 3 ingredients!) I dislike toffee, caramel, marshmallows, raisins, or highly sweetened confections. I figured it best not to participate. I can socialize on other occasions.

Probably too late for this year, but these are super easy, tasty and look cute in a bowl or a small cello bag -- and you can make the colors whatever work for any occasion. Cute to tuck in with coffee, tea or cocoa gifts too. For this crowd, they'd suit the bite or two perfectly.

https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a50281/shortbread-bites-recipe/

Artemis,

You could say that you can't have most cookies, so don't want to participate in the exchange, but would like to come and socialize. Why miss the party? If it's a tasting party, bring something to snack on, and maybe something vegetative to share with the group, like a few sugar snap peas.

Pillog, I'll do that next year. Thanks for the idea, it hadn't occurred to me. (I don't know if it was a tasting party or not.)

Lascatx, those shortbread bites look darling, and Sheilajoyce, I've enjoyed Rolo pretzels from a friend a few years ago!

Thanks everyone, for ringing in here!

It turns out it was a 30 minute gathering which focused on sharing ones' cookie endeavors. Not really social after all. So I probably won't participate next year, either.

Good to know. I didn't know there was such a businesslike event. Definitely not for someone with your list of don'ts. It was nice of them to invite you, however. Maybe have them over for afternoon tea when you're fully settled in?

I used to participate in the work cookie exchange. I slaved over making my family spritz recipe. Only to find that I didn’t like anyone else’s cookies but my own. Half the people brought chocolate chip cookies, which are NOT Christmas cookies in my mind.

I no longer work there. Now spritz is just for family.

Then I found out my son was bring the cookies to the hospital where the staff could help themselves. He said the cookies were inhaled in seconds, “They’ll eat anything!” he laughed. Sorry, if people eat my cookies just because they are hungry, that’s not my audience.

I started giving him a lot less so he would have just enough for himself and his wife. Maybe I am selfish but so be it. I work too hard on them for that. My DIL agreed that she would no longer make cookies for the hospital. Unless they were a recipe that turned out not to suit her taste. She reported that even the cookies that did not turn out in her new oven were inhaled.

My niece came to my house for lessons in how to make them. She reported that she couldn’t get the hang of it. Now, THAT is someone who I will gladly give spritz to: she knows what goes into it.