Butter cookies

Ready in 40 mins + chilling Makes about 40 biscuits

250g butter, softened but not melted ½ cup sugar

3 Tbsp sweetened condensed milk

2¼ cups plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla extract Flavourings of your choice (see right, just choose 4 for ease of managing the dough)

In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the sweetened condensed milk and beat to combine. Add the flour, baking powder and vanilla and mix until the mixture comes together into a ball. (you can do this in a stand mixer or food processor or just mix with a wooden spoon). The raw dough can be made ahead to this stage and chilled or frozen until needed. Defrost before baking. Divide dough into 4 portions. Mix flavourings into each portion (see below). Pre-heat oven to 160C. Line 3 or 4 oven trays with baking paper. Roll cookie dough into walnut-sized balls, place on baking trays and flatten slightly.

Decorate according to instructions for different flavourings. Bake until lightly golden and set (about 15-20 minutes). Allow to cool for 10 minutes on the tray then transfer to a rack to cool completely before storing in an airtight container or jar. They will keep for several weeks — if they become a little stale simply refresh for 5 minutes in an oven pre-heated to 180C. NOTE: When I was a kid all my friends wanted to come home with me for afternoon tea, arriving to the warm smell of my mother’s biscuits baking. This is her butter cookie recipe, into which I mix different flavours to make my cookie sampler.

You can easily double the recipe and freeze portions of raw dough, then whip them out of the freezer in the evening and bake them before school or morning tea. Kids love making these!

FLAVOURS FOR BUTTER COOKIES

Once you’ve made a batch of butter cookie dough, divide it into four and mix a different flavouring into each quarter (you’ll get about 10 cookies in each flavour). If you want to make all eight flavours, halve quantity of the flavourings for each biscuit below. Cook according to instructions for butter cookies.

LAVENDER COOKIES

Mix 1 tsp lavender petals into ¼ portion of the dough. Roll into 10 balls and flatten on to your baking tray. Decorate by pressing the tines of a fork into the cookies in a spoke pattern. Brush the tops with water and sprinkle with lavender sugar, made by mixing ¼ cup sugar and with 1 tsp finely snipped lavender petals.

HAZELNUT AND CHOCOLATE COOKIES

Add 1 Tbsp dark cocoa, ¼ cup chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips, and ¼ cup chopped hazelnuts to ¼ portion of dough. Roll into 10 balls and flatten on to your baking tray. Decorate when cooked and cooled with melted chocolate and a sprinkle of toasted chopped hazelnuts.

RAISIN AND CORNFLAKE CRISPS

Add ¼ cup raisins and ½ cup lightly crushed cornflakes to 1 portion of the cookie dough. Roll into 10 balls and flatten on to your baking tray.

ALMOND BISCUITS

Add 1 tsp almond extract to ¼ portion of the cookie dough. Roll into 10 balls and flatten on tray. Decorate by pressing a blanched almond into the top of each cookie.

GINGER COOKIES

Add 1tsp ground ginger and ¼ chopped crystallised ginger to ¼ portion of the dough. Roll into 10 balls and flatten on to your baking tray.

CARNIVAL COOKIES

Roll ¼ portion of dough into 10 balls, dip each ball into hundreds and thousands then flatten on to tray.

CRANBERRY COOKIES

Add ¼ cup dried cranberries and ¼ cup coarsely chopped white chocolate to ¼ portion of the cookie dough. Roll into 10 balls and flatten on to your baking tray.

COCONUT OAT COOKIES

Add ¼ cup coconut and 2 Tbsp rolled oats to ¼ portion of the cookie dough. Roll into 10 balls and flatten on to your baking tray.