THIS biscuit recipe, given to me by my favourite French pastry-chef friend, never fails and is great for children to make on a wet and cold Sunday. When you have had enough of them all bouncing off the walls and sofas, get them to make these and it will keep them quiet for a while.

The secret to this recipe is that you make it into a thick dough which is stiff and you form it into a fat sausage about the size of a rolling pin, wrap it either with clingfilm or in a plastic bag and freeze it. So when you want a nice warm biscuit with a cup of tea or as a treat, all you do is defrost, cut off thin slices and bake off in a hot oven at 180C for about 15 to 20 minutes.

You can make them in lots of flavours, including choc chip (adding lemon or orange zest) or dried fruit such as cranberries with white choc chips is delicious also.

This recipe is for about 50 biscuits: these are just plain, so add whatever you want – a good handful will do of either dried berries or choc chips.


Ingredients

700g soft unsalted butter (don’t use margarine as they will not taste good at all)
400g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
Zest of 1 lemon
1kg plain flour


Method

Mix all ingredients together to a stiff paste and then break it into three portions and roll each portion into a thick sausage shape, about the size of rolling pin.

Roll each one in cling film and freeze. They can stay in the freezer for up to six months.

Take each sausage out and thaw just enough to be able to cut through them. Line your baking trays with baking parchment/silicone/greaseproof paper.

Cut slices off your roll, about ¼-inch thick, and lay them in a line on a tray – make sure they are not touching.

Put into hot oven for the baking time above then leave them just for about ten minutes to firm up before transferring them to a plate.

Anita Tasker runs Pattacakes tearoom, bakery and patisserie at Welburn, near Castle Howard