SCHOOL holidays are over and if you have exhausted yourself trying to occupy your loved ones, spend some time in the kitchen making some simple cookies.

The children will love to make them and they do not take any real effort, they also have a finished result and take little time.

In no time, they will be chomping on the finished results their reward for their hard earned efforts.

Cookie is an American term for biscuit.

It was originally a small dry flat cake that was baked twice so that it would be crisp so it would keep for longer.

Today, the term cookie and biscuit cover a wide range of baked goods and can be crispy or chewy.

Remember, if you have nut allergies, I have added some variations below that you could still make.

Happy baking Kathy.

Peanut and sultana cookies

Ingredients:

125g (4oz) of butter or softened margarine

150g (5oz) of caster sugar

1 egg

150g (5oz) of plain white flour

2.5ml (1/2 tsp) of baking powder

A pinch of salt

125g (4oz) of crunchy peanut butter

175g (6oz) of sultanas

Method:

1. Turn oven to 190C (375f) / gas mark 5.

2. Put all the ingredients EXCEPT the sultanas into a bowl and beat together until well combined.

3. Stir in the sultanas.

4. Spoon large teaspoons of the mixture onto greased proofed baking sheets, leaving room for the biscuits to spread.

5. Place the biscuits into the oven and bake for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges.

6. Allow for the biscuits to cool a little before lifting from the baking sheets.

7. When cool lift onto a wire rack

8. Resist if you can!

You can make different variations of the cookies using the same method.

For chocolate and nut cookies, omit the peanut butter and sultanas and use 5ml (1tsp) vanilla essence, stir in 175g (6oz) chocolate drops and stir in 75g (3 oz) of walnuts.

For coconut and cherry cookies, omit the peanut butter and sultanas, reduce the sugar to 75g (3oz) and stir in 50g (2oz) of desiccated coconut and 125g (4oz) of rinsed, dried and chopped glace cherries.

For oat and cinnamon cookies, omit the peanut butter and sultanas and add 5ml (1 tsp) of vanilla essence, stir in 5ml (1 tsp) of ground cinnamon and 75g (3oz) of rolled oats.

Enjoy these little cookies on your own or with family and friends - you will be surprised how addictive they become to make and eat.

As they say, they're simple pleasures.