So 13 days ago I gave birth to a baby boy. Our third little boy who is a pleasure and a delight. I’m so in love all over again with the children I feel a little drunk. Love drunk and blessed. Number three is a relaxed little chap who sleeps well, feeds well and likes to take it all in through his very dark blue eyes. He’s as delicious as these biscuits.

One year ago: Orange rubble cake and Oatmeal & fudge cookies and Puffed up peaches

Two years ago: Clementine cake and Macadamia and white chocolate shortbread

Three years ago: Teacher’s pet chocolate and hazelnut oaty biscuits and Spelt loaf

Four years ago: Restorative chicken and leek risotto

If you’re in a biscuity kind of mood then how about: Orange butter biscuits or Lemon animal biscuits or Chocolate, hazelnut and orange wrinkly biscuits or Chocolate and hazelnut oaty biscuits or Oaty peanut butter biscuits or Chocolately walnut melts or Banana & custard melts

Cut out vanilla biscuits

Makes 76 x 5cm biscuits or 38 sandwiched biscuits

Ingredients:

• 200g castor sugar
• 225g soft salted butter
• 1 large egg at room temperature
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 385g plain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder

Cream together the butter and sugar until really light and creamy looking – about 4 minutes in a stand mixer, about 6 with a handheld mixer of 8 – 10 by hand with a wooden spoon. Add the egg dribble by dribble, beating well after each addition. Lastly add the flour and baking powder and mix until combined. Use your hands to pull the mixture together, wrap in clingfilm and chill for 40 minutes.

Use a little flour to dredge the work surface and coat a rolling pin then roll the biscuit dough to about 3 – 4mm thick. Cut out shapes and pop onto a baking tray (you can line with non stick parchment though these biscuits didn’t stick on my baking trays without it) then chill the whole tray in the fridge for 15 minutes. Meanwhile pre-heat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. (The chilling is what keeps the shape of the biscuits, as does the preheating of the oven – you need cold biscuits to hit a hot oven and immediately bake. Skipping either step can result in biscuits that spread. They’ll still taste fine but won’t look so pretty.)

Bake the chilled biscuits for 10 -12 minutes until they’re just starting to brown at the edges. Leave for 5 minutes to cool on the tray then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Either serve as they are or sandwich together with buttercream/jam.

NB: This recipe makes a LOT of biscuits. Maybe think about freezing some of the dough or even cutting out the biscuits and freezing them in their little shapes. Pop in a freezer bag and bake from frozen allowing 5 minutes extra baking time.