When the baking mood hits you, a batch of biscuits is not only quick and easy to whip up, but extremely satisfying. 

These old fashioned recipes can be made by hand, as my mother and grandmother did, or whipped up using an electric mixer or food processor.

For the baking novice, there are a few rules to follow.

Start with the ingredients at room temperature. If your butter is cold, use a grater to break up into small pieces. Otherwise, microwave in short bursts to soften.

To bring eggs to room temperature, take them out of the fridge 30 minutes before you plan to use them. Alternatively, you can warm them up very quickly by placing them in a bowl of warm water for 5-10 minutes.

Sifting flour and other dry ingredients together helps to integrate and aerate the mixture. Sift onto a piece of baking paper to make it easier to add to the mixing bowl.

When using cup and spoon measures, check that they are Australian Standard Metric measures. An Australian metric tablespoon is 20ml and a cup is 250ml. Many kitchenware shops sell cup and spoon measures that have been designed overseas, where the measurements are different. This can lead to disaster when baking.

When measuring flour using a cup, first stir the flour in its container to aerate and lift it. Then scoop out the required amount, heaping it slightly in the cup. Level it off with the back of a knife. Don’t be tempted to tap or shake the cup, as the flour shouldn’t be packed in.

A more failsafe approach is to weigh all ingredients. Digital scales are a good investment as your measurements will be accurate.

The following recipe for Monte Carlos is for old fashioned, filled biscuits. So find an excuse to get baking. And may these become some of your family favourites.

Monte carlos

190g butter at room temperature

1 tsp vanilla essence

125g brown sugar

1 large egg

150g self raising flour

100g plain flour

¼ (quarter) tsp bicarb soda

75g fine dessicated coconut

½ (half) cup raspberry jam

cream filling:

75g butter

½ (half) tsp vanilla essence

2 tsp milk

190g icing sugar

Preheat oven to 180C.

Beat butter, vanilla and sugar with an electric mixer until just combined. Add egg and beat to combine.

Sift flours with bicarb soda and add to butter mixture in two batches, alternating with coconut. Mix well.

Roll 2 tsp of mixture into ovals, place on lined oven trays and flatten slightly with the back of a fork. Allow room for spreading.

Bake for 7-10 minutes.

Remove and cool on trays for a few minutes to firm up, then lift onto wire racks to cool completely.

To make the filling, beat butter, vanilla, milk and icing sugar in a small bowl until fluffy. 

Place a small amount of raspberry jam on the flat side of one biscuit and spread some icing on the flat side of a similar size biscuit. Sandwich both biscuits together. Repeat with remaining biscuits.

Makes 28 filled biscuits.

Hazelnut and chocolate baci di dama

Baci di Dama means ladies kisses. They are like little mouthfuls of heaven.

¾ cup hazelnuts

1 cup icing sugar

125g butter, softened

zest of 1 lemon

1 cup plain flour

120g dark chocolate (between 58 -70% cocoa content)

Preheat oven to 180C.

Place hazelnuts on an oven tray and heat in oven for 5 minutes. Remove and place hazelnuts in tea towel. Rub vigorously to remove the skins. Allow to cool.

Process the hazelnuts with icing sugar in a food processor until finely ground.

Add butter and lemon rind and process until creamy.

Remove from processor and gently incorporate flour until just combined (do not over mix).

Use a teaspoon to scoop up a small amount of mix and roll into a ball. Place on lined oven trays, well spaced to allow for spreading.

Bake for 12-15 minutes until lightly golden, then cool on trays on a wire rack.

Melt chocolate in a glass bowl over a pot of just boiled water from the kettle or in a microwave on medium power for 1 minute or so. Stir until smooth and glossy.

Spread a small amount of chocolate on one side of the cooled biscuit, then sandwich with another biscuit. Repeat with remaining biscuits.

Makes 60 filled biscuits.

My childhood memories of Grandma’s kitchen always include the taste of her homemade ginger nut biscuits. Fresh out of the oven, the heady aroma from the spices would permeate her small home and we never waited for them to cool too long before sneaking one or two from the wire racks on the bench.

Make up a batch of these and you’ll possibly do the same. Keep them simple without adding the butterscotch filling and they’re still irresistible.

ginger nuts with butterscotch cream

300g plain flour

1 ½ (one and a half) tsp bicarb soda

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp ginger

1 tsp allspice

125g unsalted butter, room temp

220g caster sugar

1 egg

¼ (quarter) cup treacle

½ (half) cup raw sugar

butterscotch cream:

300g caster sugar

150g thickened cream (35% fat)

200g unsalted butter, at room temperature

Preheat oven to 180C.

Sift flour, bicarb soda and spices together.

Cream butter and caster sugar in an electric mixer until light and fluffy.

Add egg and treacle and mix well.

Add flour mixture and mix well to combine.

Roll into small balls and roll in raw sugar.

Place on lined oven trays and flatten slightly. Allow room to spread.

Bake for 10 minutes, until crisp.

Remove from oven and cool on trays for a few minutes before lifting onto wire racks to cool.

To make the butterscotch cream filling, melt sugar in large heavy based frypan, stirring with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat, add cream and stir until combined. Set aside to cool.

Place butter in an electric mixer with a whisk attachment and whisk until light and fluffy. Add cooled caramel and continue to whisk until combined.

Sandwich biscuits together with butterscotch cream.

Makes 20 large filled biscuits.