Ok, let's kick this off with something simple. This is the best biscuit recipe I have come across and if you bake you'll probably always have the ingredients in your cupboard. Not only is this seriously simple, it's also brilliantly versatile because you can add pretty much any flavour at Step 2 - chocolate chips, coconut, cinnamon, raisins, cocoa powder....

Ingredients for 24 biscuits

300g (12oz) plain flour
100g (4oz) caster sugar
200g (8oz) butter (room temp)

1. Put all the ingredients into a bowl
2. Rub it together between your fingers till it becomes crumb like (add your chosen flavour at the stage)
3. Squeeze it into a ball, keep working it till it sticks together quite well, this will make a nicer biscuit because it won't be too crumbly
4. Pinch off little lumps and squash them between your palms to make something that resembles a biscuit shape
5. Bake them on a very slightly greased baking sheet for 15 - 20 mins 170oC/325F/Gas Mark 3 (16 mins in my fan oven makes the perfect biscuit)

I always leave them on the baking tray for around 3-5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before filling my biscuit jar.