Biscuit or cookie

These decadent cookies and cream brownies are absolutely divine. Packed full of dense chocolate, crunchy macadamias and delicious biscuit pieces, don't expect them to stay around long!

Need a small snack to offer while entertaining but prefer savoury over sweet? These cheese biscuits are just the thing for you but be careful your guests don't gobble them all up before you get to try one!

This decadent Italian pastry is a perfect accompaniment to a hot cup of coffee (or a sneaky glass of brandy). Rich in nuts, dried fruit and dark chocolate, try to stop yourself from just having one.

Packed full of double chocolate chunks, these delicious malt cookies are wonderfully sweet, and are divine served with a glass of milk.

Recipe from The Australian Women's Weekly Comfort Food cookbook

Deliciously sweet apricots are layered in a tall glass with fresh strawberries, crumbly biscuit pieces, vanilla custard and flaked almonds.

The kids will enjoy helping to make these simple minty biscuits. They make great food gifts as well as a sweet treat for the whole family.

These coconut morsels come out of the fridge ready for the party. Great for summer when you don't want the oven on.

This buttery almond shortbread would make a great homemade gift, as well as a treat for morning or afternoon tea.

Get the party started with these easy to make cheese twists. Great for lunchboxes as well!

These decadent caramel peanut tarts are easy-to-make, and absolutely divine. Sweet, gooey caramel is combined with crunchy peanut butter, then topped with creamy dark chocolate, all sitting inside a sweet, biscuit crust.

Budget priced, these white chocolate brownies are delicious with morning or afternoon tea or with a cup of coffee after dinner. But be warmed - you won't be able to stop at one!

All you need is a cookie cutter, some food colouring and edible flowers to make these simple biscuits for a children's birthday party or tea party. They make great edible gifts for little people too.

Perfect for a morning tea, picnic, or after-dinner treat, these almond biscuits are stuffed with cherry jam and will satisfy any sweet tooth!

These chewy apricot cookies are wonderful drizzled with a sweet lemon icing.

Gather the kids for some festive baking. They'll love the process of getting their hands dirty with dough and the delicious end result as well!

These savoury shortbreads are perfect for morning and afternoon tea, lunchboxes or as a snack. They can be served warm, stored in an airtight container or popped into the freezer for another day.

We can't get enough of these classic savoury nibbles! You might be safer making a double batch; these ones disappear quickly!

There's a reason the classics never go out of style, and we still love these retro favourites. Serve with a hot cup of tea.

Too cute! Get the kids involved with these simple biscuits and let them decorate away to their hearts content. Definitely a wet weather winner!

Half the fun of baking gingerbread is the decoration; get the little ones involved for a fun (and delicious!) afternoon activity.

We can never get enough chocolate chip cookies! Try this classic recipe from the Collectors' Edition of the Big Book of Beautiful Biscuits.

Who can resist the sweet delights of a hundreds and thousands biscuit? Recreate everyone's favourite with this classic recipe.

Switch up this classic with nutty wholemeal flour for a hearty afternoon tea.

Enlist the children's help to make and decorate these simple festive biscuits. Make for the family, or wrap to give as gifts.

Perfect biscuits of gingernut baked to perfection. Watch them go at afternoon tea!

Sweet, rich and oozy, this divine caramel jersey fondue is a great dessert for a dinner party or afternoon tea with girlfriends. Serve it up with a batch of these homemade golden, crumbly madeleines to delight your guests.

Sweet, chewy, chocolately and nutty - this divine pecan slice is perfect served with a freshly brewed cup of coffee for a decadent morning or afternoon treat.

Bite-size sweets are practically a requirement of Christmas cheer. This recipe is easy to prepare, and they make great gifts.

It's the winning dessert duo you just can't resist: strawberries and cream. Sandwiched between delightful shortcake biscuits it's a treat that will impress everyone, even your grandmother.

You can freeze the dough for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature and continue recipe from step 5. Xanthan gum is available in the health food section of some supermarkets and at health food stores. Note

Try a small star cutter to make a festive ribbon hole. Note

While they may be a tough nut to crack, they are an easy nut to turn into tempting sweet treats.

There's something about chocolate that most of us find hard to resist... Oh! Chocolate!

Makes 60 Note

For children, replace the alcohol with 2 tablespoons of icing sugar and stand for 10 minutes to macerate. If the ice-cream is too soft after slicing, return the slices to the freezer to firm before cutting out circles. Note

Try using different cutters for interesting shapes, especially when you’re cutting out the centre holes. Note

If desired, sprinkle these shortbread shapes with caster or demerara sugar before baking. Note

Cheese and walnut shortbreads

If the mixture hardens, stir in a few drops of hot water. If you don’t have a sugar thermometer, drop a teaspoon of mixture into iced water. It should form a soft ball when ready. Note

For lunchboxes or dessert, this biscuit recipe is wonderfully versatile.

Add dried fruit and a little citrus to your sweet biscuits to balance out the butter and sugar and create a new level of flavour your family and friends will love.

A pot of coffee or tea and a plate of home baking can give an otherwise drab afternoon a bit of a rise. I like to include nuts in sweet baking to balance out the butter and sugar. They also make baking taste scrumptious

Rotate baking trays halfway through baking time. Note

If preferred, substitute cinnamon sugar for caster sugar and cinnamon, available in spice section of supermarkets. Note

Allowing florentines to cool completely before removing them from baking trays is one of the best ways to stop them breaking as you lift them off. Note

LSA, a unique combination of finely ground linseed, sunflower seeds and almonds, has amazing health benefits.

For cute edible ornaments, use a skewer to make a hole in each biscuit after cooking, then thread through ribbon. Note

They include a nice surprise – a baked-in dollop of cream cheese.

Jordan Rondel creates rich and rewarding gluten-free cookies

Dried apricots or sultanas would also taste delicious instead of dates in this recipe. Note

Macarons must be baked in a conventional oven as a fan-forced setting will cause them to crack. Note

You can find premade writing icing and multicoloured cachous in the baking section at supermarkets. Note

There are plenty of great Christmas shapes you can choose from – we used festive star-shaped ones here. Note

This is the American version of the Australian and New Zealand jam finger-hole biscuits. Note

Gingerbread creations brought to you by New Zealand Woman's Weekly

If you like shortbread that melts in the mouth, use 1 cup of icing sugar instead of the caster sugar and substitute 1 cup of the plain flour with cornflour. We’ve shaped our shortbread into “petticoat tails”, one of the traditional Scottish ways. It’s thought this recipe was brought from France by Mary, Queen of […]

If you like sweet treats but are keeping an eye on your weight, don’t fill the biscuits simply dust them lightly with icing sugar. If served individually, this will yield 16 biscuits. Note

Not suitable to freeze. Chocolate suitable to microwave. Note

Suitable to freeze. Not suitable to microwave. Note

Suitable to freeze. Not suitable to microwave. Note

Uncooked dough suitable to freeze. Not suitable to microwave. Store biscuits in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week. Note

MAKES 12 PREP AND COOK TIME 1 HOUR 30 MINUTES (+ REFRIGERATION, COOLING AND STANDING TIME)

Makes 24. Prep and cook time 40 minutes (+ refrigeration and standing time).

MAKES 15 PREP AND COOK TIME 45 MINUTES (+ REFRIGERATION AND COOLING TIME)

This is an easy slice to whip up with a short baking time. It's perfect for a sweet lunch box treat or little mid-morning snack at work!

Stylish and delicious, these sweet treats by Jordan Rondel are full of goodness and free of gluten

Beat the Christmas rush with Alexa Johnston’s delicious make-ahead gifts.

We used black cherry, raspberry and apricot jam to make these shortbread snowflakes, but you can use any flavour you like. If you don’t have a set of snowflake cutters, stars are very pretty too.

For white chocolate and cherry: stir in 1/2 cup (90g) white chocolate chips and 1/2 cup (100g) chopped red glace cherries in place of the dark chocolate chips. For pecan and raisin: stir in 1/2 cup (60g) chopped pecans and 1/2 cup (80g) chopped raisins in place of the chocolate chips. Suitable to freeze. Butter […]

You can replace the gluten-free plain flour with regular plain flour if wheat isn’t a concern. Or for nut-free biscuits, omit the macadamias. Note

These elegant biscuits should have a slightly grainy, crumbly texture, like sand, from whence they take their name. The filling can be varied, but these are stacked with strawberries and cream.

Producing 'cookies in a jar' gifts that taste as good as they look is a bit of an art. Thankfully this recipe fits the bill on both fronts.

Look for baby rice cereal, such as Farex, in the baby section of supermarkets. Chocolate mint patties and white choc bits are usually gluten-free, but be sure to check the labels on packets when shopping. Note