Since writing my blog post ‘How to feed a family of five on £20 a week‘, I’ve received some great comments as well as some emails asking me for regular tips and recipes.

So, I’ve decided to do just that. I want to stress though that I am a total amateur and didn’t really cook or bake properly until a few years ago! In fact it was my OH who encouraged me and I’m so pleased that he did because I thoroughly enjoy it.

These cookies are so easy to make and so long as you make sure you have the ingredients in your cupboard, you can rustle up sweet treats whenever you want them. I usually make them for the kids lunchboxes as well as for something us grown ups can have with our coffee.

They are incredibly cheap to make and if you master the basic recipe you can add all sorts of things to them. Our current favourite is dark chocolate and coconut. A bounty bar in a biscuit!

A few years ago I invested in a Kenwood Multi-Pro. That and my breadmaker are the two best kitchen things I have ever bought. I wouldn’t be without my Multi-Pro now, it makes things so easy. You can just throw all the ingredients in and in 30seconds it’s done!

Ok…so here we go. Next to the ingredients list, I’ll make a note as to whether it was from the Sainsbury’s basic range.

200g Butter (Sainsbury’ s basic. 75p each. Always buy 6 per week)

150g Self raising flour (Sainsbury’s basic. 43p. Buy one bag a month)

Half teaspoon baking powder

1 egg

75g Porridge oats (Sainsbury basic. 1kg around 75p)

125g light brown sugar

Mix together the butter, flour baking powder and porridge oats until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

Next add the egg and sugar and mix well.

Once everything is well mixed you can add some of the following:

Crumbled Dark Chocolate. (Sainsbury’s basic 150g bar. 27p Buy 2 per week)

Crumbled milk chocolate. (Sainsbury’s basic 150g bar. 27p Buy 2 per week)

Ground mixed nuts

Almonds

Dessicated coconuts

Mixed fruit

Raisins

Take a tablespoon of the cookie dough and place on a baking tray. Space well apart. Gentle press down on the dough with the back of a spoon.

You should get about 18 cookies out of the mixture.

Place in an oven at 180 degrees centigrade (gas mark 4) for 15-18 minutes or until golden on top.

Allow to cool and serve.

Brilliant!!!

Tomorrow……Frugal Flapjacks!