Cookie Sampler - from Kiwicakes test kitchen

I decided to make a couple of different cookies for the girls at work today to try. One of my fondest childhood memories was a family friend that would arrive every Christmas with a huge Sampler box of biscuits to share. It was such a treat getting to choose which we were going to eat. Having options is definitely one of the most satisfying freedoms in life!

Let your imagination go wild! I'm sure if most of us scratch around in the pantry we can come up with a varied assortment of chunky additions to a basic biscuit recipie like - raisins, dried apricots, dates, currants, cranberries, almonds, peanuts, mixed nuts, coconut, chocolate, lollies, oats, cocoa, flavourings, even a few tablespoons of dry Milo, jelly or instant pudding mix will give your cookies a unique taste! Use any basic vanilla biscuit recipie (the tried and tested Edmond's cookbook has a goodie) and try different flavour and texture combos! Because the mixture is likely to be chunky its easiest to roll into balls and flatten, rather than try and use cookie cutters.

One hint I do have for baking cookies is to invest in reusable baking sheets. You can buy a big roll and cut to fit your trays and cake pans and they are really affordable! So as well as being better for the environment they cut down the need for additional grease around your baking. Here are my trays ready to go:

To present your cookies, a wee blackboard sign can really make the dish come to life! These come in 6-packs so can be used for all types of labeling uses at events or in displays etc and then wiped clean to reuse over again.