EVANS CITY — Those passing St. John’s United Church of Christ on the morning of Dec. 5 may notice a long line at the door. Then again, they might first pick up on the delicious scent of 2,400 cookies.

Cookies From the Heart, an annual Christmas cookie sale, will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. that day at the church on East Main Street.

Church members volunteer to bake 10 dozen cookies of one type each.

“Last year we had almost 30 varieties, and we sold 200 dozen,” said organizer Beth Painter.

Painter said crowd-control measures will be added at this year’s sale so that one person at a time selects their cookies. She said that last year some buyers became impatient after waiting in line for five minutes.

“They’re afraid the cookies are going to be gone,” Painter said.

She said 18 bakers have signed up this year.

“We ask people to donate 10 dozen, so that’s a lot of cookies to bake,” Painter said.

She said the favorite cookies last year were lady locks and a chocolate tree with peanut butter in the middle.

“Those were delicious,” Painter said.

Stella Neely has baked for the sale each year since its inception five years ago.

This year she baked 10 dozen lady locks and the same number of buckeyes, which are peanut butter balls covered in chocolate.

“It’s a fundraiser and it’s fun,” Neely said of her annual participation.

She said each variety takes two days because there are multiple steps involved in each.

Neely said the lady locks, which cost a little more to make, were especially expensive this year because a branch fell on her car as she was returning home from buying the special sheets of dough required for the delicate, cream-filled confections.

“It cost me $150 to get it fixed,” Neely said.

She said the lady locks cost a little more than average cookies because they are fancier and more complex to make.

Neely said many people look forward to the cookie sale because they can get cookies they normally wouldn’t make at home.

Painter said the event normally sells out early.

“I was home by 1:30 last year,” she said.

Painter said Cookies From the Heart made $1,200 last year. The proceeds go into the church general fund.