I still like to think of myself as young and cool…’down with the kids’ so to speak. At least that’s what I tell myself as I sing to Little Mix whilst squeezing through the rollers at soft play…

In reality I’m a mum of two in her 30s who likes to be in bed before 9.30pm and feels rebellious staying up to watch Have I got News For You.

Any delusions of being ‘with it’ were quickly shattered when I was talking about Basic Biscuits and was informed that ‘basic’ is apparently a derogatory term now! Who knew? Maybe everyone apart from me.

I’m using ‘basic’ in the traditional sense here though. So these biscuits are simple to make but really tasty, (I really recommend using real butter) and basic in the very best sense of the word.

You will need 2 baking sheets, well greased or lined with baking paper.

Ingredients

• 350g plain flour

• 150g caster sugar

• 200g butter

• 1 egg

• Tsp vanilla essence

Preheat oven to 180° C or Gas mark 4

Giant bowl at the ready! Mix the butter and sugar together until combined, then stir in the egg and vanilla.

Pour in the flour and mix until you have a fairly stiff dough.

Roll out to apx 2cm thickness and cut into your preferred shapes using cookie cutters or a child safe knife.

If it’s a bit sticky, add more flour and also use plenty of flour on the worktop and rolling pin.

My two love rolling dough and immediately eating the raw shapes at any moment, so if you manage to get any biscuits onto the trays give yourself a pat on the back…

Pop onto your lined trays and bake for about 10 minutes or golden.

Allow to cool completely before decorating (optional).