Sometimes a child forgets to tell us he needs to bring cookies for something at school or church until the last minute, or sometimes our schedule just gets out of control and we’re short on time to bring cookies for a church fellowship or get-together with friends, or sometimes we just want a little homemade sweetness but we don’t have (or want to spend) a lot of time preparing it. These are a couple of my favorite quick, easy, simple cookie recipes.

Double Delicious Cookie Bars

(Note: These contain peanut butter chips, but they can be omitted and additional chocolate chips used instead if you’re taking this somewhere where someone might have peanut allergies)

1/2 c. margarine or butter
1 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs
1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 12-oz. pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 c. peanut butter chips
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 tsp. shortening

Preheat oven to 350 (325 for glass dish). In a 9 x 13-inch pan, melt margarine in oven. Sprinkle crumbs evenly over margarine. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumbs. Top with 12-ounce packages chocolate chips and peanut butter chips; press down firmly. Bake 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned. Melt 1 cup chocolate chips and shortening; drizzle over bars. Cut into bars when cool. Store loosely covered at room temperature.

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

These are a pared-down version of the originals but taste every bit as good. My son’s girlfriend got this recipe in one of her classes.

1 c. peanut butter
1 c. sugar
1 egg
Hershey’s Kisses

Thoroughly mix together peanut butter, sugar, and egg. Drop by teaspoonful or roll into 1 inch balls onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350 for about 10-11 minutes, until slightly browned. Immediately place an unwrapped Hershey’s Kiss in the center of each cookie and press down. Let sit on pan for a minute or two, then remove from pan. Let cool before storing. Makes 24-26.

For more wonderful, workable tips, go to Rocks In My Dryer.