Freezer Biscuits

These biscuits are great as you can mix up a big batch, keep it in the freezer then take some out and bake them whenever you want them - fifteen minutes to eating time. They're a good basic recipe too - make up the plain dough and add flavourings to make different versions.

Ingredients:

• • 250g softened butter

  • 1½  cups sugar

  • 2 eggs

  • 3 cups plain flour

  • 1 tsp vanilla

  • optional flavouring of choice (see below)

Method:

• 1. cream butter and sugar

  2. add eggs one by one and beat until combined.

  3. fold in flour and vanilla with a spoon.

  4. roll into three sausage shapes about 5cm in diameter or square the dough up for square or rectangular biscuits

  5. wrap each in cling wrap and freeze until required - they may be kept in the freezer for up to 3 months in in the fridge for a week.

  6. when ready to bake, slice biscuits off the frozen sausage

  7. place onto a greased or lined tray

  8. bake till very pale gold at 200C.

  9. remove from tray while warm and cool on a wire rack

  10. store in a sealed container.

Flavourings:

• • Chocolate: add 2 tab of cocoa powder to the mix.

  • Choc chip: add 1/2 cup grated chocolate. Don't use buttons because the mixture will crumble too easily

  • Coconut: add half a cup coconut; this is also good with orange zest or a splodge of jam or both instead of vanilla.  Balls of dough can also be rolled in coconut.

  • Spice:  add 1 tsp of mixed spice, allspice or combine either spice with ground cloves, cinnamon, ginger.

  • Orange or lemon: omit the vanilla and add 2 tab grated orange or lemon zest.

  • Ginger: add 1 tab ground ginger or 1/3 cup chopped glace ginger.

  • Jam: allow the dough to soften and make an indent in centre of each biscuit with your pinkie or end of a marking pen and place a teaspoon of jam in the hole.

  • Nuts: add 3/4 cup of finely chopped nuts of choice - walnuts, hazelnuts, macadamias, almonds are all good.

  • Oatmeal: substitute 1 cup of rolled oats for 1 cup of flour - some spice would also work well with this mixture

  • Cornflake:  substiture 1/2 cup of cornflake crumbs for 1/2 cup flour.

I usually split the dough into thirds and then add some flavourings so that I have a choice of three different biscuits.