When my Mother died in 2016, one of the rather more challenging jobs was cleaning the kitchen, or rather I should say HER kitchen. As it was totally her domain and we were rarely allowed to touch anything or certainly not clean it. So there was a task ahead. Dried herbs from 1986, tins of condensed milk from 1990, a bowl of dripping in the back of the fridge that had been continually topped up since…um…I’m not sure. But what I also discovered was her recipe book. An inauspicious ring-bound note book which is absolutely STUFFED with all sorts of recipes from magazines and papers, friends handwritten and many of her own. The ones from other people would invariably have been amended and written on saying things such as “more SALT” or “ADD EXTRA WINE” or “only 10 -12 mins in the AGA” . My mother was one of the very best cooks I know. Yes, I would say that but I think if you asked anyone who tasted her food, they would agree.

But the really extraordinary thing about her was, after she had some very invasive surgery to prolong her life after being diagnosed with throat cancer of which the side effects included almost complete inability to speak and crucially not able to feed via her mouth, she continued to cook, entertain friends to legendary lunch parties and invent tasty, exciting, innovative recipes.

Anyway, during the Big Kitchen Clean Up, I swiped her recipe book and packed it up with all the rest of our belongings as we prepared to make the move to Spain. About two years later, when we eventually opened the last boxes of our belongings, having trudged between various rental properties, we were at last in our own kitchen. Buried deep in one of the last remaining boxes, underneath tablecloths, candlesticks and a few dusty plates was the recipe notebook. I pored through its well thumbed, soup splattered pages. It conjured vivid memories of me and my mother chatting by the Aga and my being chief taster of many of the dishes that were now stuffed and scribbled into this shabby notebook.

The Cheesy Biscuits recipe was loose and dropped out into my lap. I almost immediately got the baking tray out. And there I was, transported back to my parent’s house in Scotland, sitting cosy on the sofa, gin in hand, dog drying by the fire and munching the most delicious cheesy biscuits.

Like Mum, I’ve made a few minor tweaks too; I don’t think she would mind. She always used a recipe as a basis for her own version.

I recommend serving these with either a stiff gin and tonic as a pre dinner aperitif or, like us today, with an ice cold glass of Manzanilla sherry as a midday Sunday Snifter. They are unashamedly addictive and take ‘moreish’ to a whole new level. You have been warned!

Mum’s Cheesy Biscuits

Makes about 60 biscuits

INGREDIENTS

120g Plain flour
100g Butter
100g strong grated cheese (cheddar or I use strong manchego)
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 clove garlic (grated)
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary and thyme (finely chopped)
Salt and pepper
Dried mixed herbs (optional)

METHOD

Preheat oven to 180c (fan)

Chop the butter into small chunks. In a food processor, place the all the ingredients except the cheese. Whizz them up until they resemble fine breadcrumbs. Add the cheese and whizz again until the mixture turns into a soft dough.

Split the dough ball into 2 equal parts and roll into two long sausages. Wrap the sausages in cling film and place in the freezer for 15 mins.

Remove from the freezer and slice them into circular discs about 1/2 cm thick.

Place them on greaseproof baking paper in a tray about 2 cms apart. Sprinkle a little more cayenne pepper or mixed dried herbs on the top of each biscuit and place in the oven for 10-12 minutes.

As my Mum said…”if you don’t watch them they will burn in a blink of an eye!”

Feel free to experiment with your sprinkles, try anchovies, parmesan or a sundried tomato.