To mark National Baking Week, MAXINE GORDON makes some cookies.

I LOVE baking, but by that I mean making cakes. Sponge is my failsafe treat – two layers, sometimes flavoured, sometimes plain, stuck together with something sticky and sweet, seems to do the trick every time.

My success with other baked goods has been mixed. Dry brownies, burned biscuits, falling apart flapjacks – it’s no wonder I stick to cakes.

So in honour of National Baking Week, I decided to make some cookies. I used the basic recipe for oat and raisin cookies from a new cookbook, Family Kitchen Cookbook, by Caroline Bretherton (Dorling Kindersley, £25).

I picked this recipe because I had most of the ingredients in my cupboard and fridge. I was low on caster sugar, so only used half the amount in the recipe (they still tasted sweet enough).

I used a mix of currants and apricots (because I was out of raisins) and added a dash of almond extract because I wanted to.

They tasted lovely – very short and crumbly – and because there was less sugar, the almond flavour flooded through.

I am now going to experiment with some more fruits and flavourings (I fancy cranberry and orange next and lemon with lots of lemon rind and maybe some chopped nuts too).

Below is the recipe from the book with my alterations in brackets.

Happy baking.

Oat and raisin cookies
Makes 15 (I got 17 out of mine)

150g (5½ oz) butter
100g (3½ oz) caster sugar (I used 50g)
125g (4½ oz) self-raising flour, sifted
100g (3½ oz) oats (I used jumbo ones)
50g (1¾ oz) raisins (I used 25g currants and 25g chopped dried apricots)
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1. Pre-heat oven to 180C/350F/GM4. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a gentle heat. Allow it to cool while you measure out the other ingredients.

2. Mix the sugar, flour, oats, and raisins (or dried fruit of your choice) into the cooled, melted butter and stir well.

3. In a cup, mix the bicarbonate of soda with 1 tbsp of boiling water until it dissolves, then mix it well into the biscuit mixture.

4. Take 1 tbsp of the mixture and roll it into a ball between your hands, flatten it slightly and put it on a baking tray. Repeat to use up all the dough, spacing them well apart on the tray, as they will spread.

5. Bake in the centre of the oven for 12-15 minutes until they turn golden brown. Remove the cookies from the oven and leave them to cool on the baking sheets for five minutes (they will break if you do not) then transfer them to a wire rack to cook completely.

Twitter: @MaxineYGordon