My Mum’s Vanilla Biscuits are a simple, classic bake that never goes out of style. With just flour, sugar, butter and egg, they come together into a soft dough that’s easy to work with and perfect for shaping.
These biscuits are wonderfully versatile too, whether you add chocolate chips or sultanas for a little extra sweetness. They bake up lightly golden with a lovely vanilla flavour, making them ideal for lunchboxes, sharing, or a quiet moment with a cuppa.
Posted April 30, 2023. Updated April 30, 2026.
Why are these biscuits such a family favourite?
Today I would like to share with you a recipe from my Mum – I am quite sure she did not invent the recipe but in my mind it may as well be hers! These cookies were a constant when I was growing up – the go to cookie recipe for any occasion and they are so so tasty.
They are crispy, buttery, sugary and great with either sultanas or chocolate chips. A really basic recipe that takes no time to whip up.
Do I need to press these biscuits with a fork?
I rarely will use a fork to press into biscuits these days, preferring the more smooth cookie style, but you just have to include that step here to create that classic finish.
Ingredients for Vanilla Biscuits
Just a few pantry staple ingredients are needed to make these biscuits. Scroll down to see the full recipe and method in the recipe card below.
- Sugar
- Butter
- Vanilla Essence
- Egg
- Plain White Flour
- Baking Powder
- Sultanas or Chocolate Chips
Do I need a mixer to make these vanilla biscuits?
These biscuits are so easy to make, you will need a food mixer or an electric hand held beater as you need to cream together the first few ingredients.
Once the sugar, butter and vanilla are creamed together, I add in the eggs and blend well, then add in the flour, baking powder and either sultanas or chocolate chips. Then stir to combine.
How do I shape and know when these biscuits are ready?
I like to roll these into small balls, around a tablespoon, then press with a damp fork to create that classic biscuit shape. They take around 15 minutes to bake depending on your oven, they are done when they are lightly golden at the edges.
If your biscuits don’t turn out quite as expected, this guide to common baking mistakes and how to fix them is a helpful place to start.
Will these biscuits crisp up as they cool?
The biscuits will be soft when you take them out of the oven, then firm up and become crisp as they cool.
Easy as that! I think you will love them! Store in an airtight container and they last well – if you don’t eat them all that is!
Other biscuits you may like to try
If you like the look of these biscuits you might like to try a few others I love below:
My Mum’s Vanilla Biscuits Recipe
My Mum's Vanilla Biscuits
My Mum’s Vanilla Biscuits are a reliable, easy bake made with simple pantry ingredients, creating soft, lightly golden biscuits perfect for everyday baking and lunchboxes.
Ingredients
- 1 ⅔ Cups Plain White Flour, 250 g
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 125 g Butter, room temperature
- 1 Cup + 2 Tablespoons White Sugar, 240 g
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla Essence
- 1 Egg
- ½ Cup of Sultanas or Chocolate Chips, 75 g
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 175° C and line a large tray with baking paper.
- In a medium bowl add the flour and baking powder and whisk well to combine, and set aside.
- In a food mixer or with electric beaters, beat together the butter, sugar, and vanilla for about 4 minutes until smooth and creamy.
- Add the egg and mix well for 1 minute. Fold in the dry ingredients until almost combined, then stir through the sultanas or chocolate chips until evenly dispersed and no flour is visible.
- Roll tablespoon-sized amounts of dough into balls and place on the prepared tray. Lightly press each with a damp fork.
- Bake for 13-16 minutes, or until the edges are golden. The biscuits will still be soft but will firm as they cool.
- Cool on the tray for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition Information
Yield 24 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 107Total Fat 6gSaturated Fat 4gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 19mgSodium 62mgCarbohydrates 14gFiber 0gSugar 13gProtein 1g
JustAMumNZ.com, occasionally offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site. This information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although justamumnz.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
I really hope you love My Mum’s Vanilla Biscuits from my family to yours. They’re such a simple, comforting bake to have on hand, and one I know I’ll be making again and again.
If you give this recipe a go, I’d love to hear how it turned out for you in the comments. You can also leave a ⭐ rating in the recipe card above, it really helps others find and enjoy this recipe too.
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Happy baking,
Anna x
Meredith says
This is the best biscuit recipe ever. I have been making biscuits for decades and this takes the cake. Buttery, with that crisp snap and the beautiful vanilla aroma. These are dangerously good. I have made with both choc chips and sultanas and I have to say the sultanas win for me. They are like a little pop of chewy texture. Thanks!
June Harrow says
These are my go to biscuits they are delicious and so easy to make.
Jean Morrison says
Greetings from Australia. I’m so glad I found your recipe. It was incredibly easy. I used only 125 gm sugar and the biscuits were more than sweet enough for our taste. I can see the recipe is versatile insofar as add-ins so I know I will make it a lot. Thank you so much.
Anna From Just A Mum says
Hi from over the ditch! I’m really glad you enjoyed it. Anna
Peta says
Hi Anna, Love all your recipes thank you. Just want to clarify the oven temperature that you suggest is that for fan forced or no fan? Usually fan forced would be 10-20deg lower
justamumnz says
Hi, All my recipes are for standard bake, the usual recommendation if you can only use fan is 20C less.
Carol says
I’ve just made but mine went big and flat ,I did use self raising flour and sweet William chocolate Chips due nut allergy ,bit disappointed they don’t look like yours but then probably my own fault
justamumnz says
Hi, it would have been due to the self raising flour. The usual ratio is 150 grams or a cup of flour to 1.5 teaspoons of baking powder to make self raising. So in this case you would have used closer to 2.5 teaspoons of baking powder where the recipe calls for just one.
Judy Sinnott says
Thanks for the recipe I will let you know as soon as I make the biscuits thanks
Judy Sinnott says
Why are your recipes so hard to read because they are so pail to read
justamumnz says
Hmm that’s unusual. Are you looking at the actual printable recipe card with full ingredients, quantities and method?
Sue Selwyn says
This is my favourite go to recipe. It’s so versatile.
romana says
The vanilla biscuit recipe is a very nice recipe. I put cake mix in my recipe, instead of sultanas. Definitely a recipe to keep.
Aren’t i suppose to add a pinch of salt to mixture?
romana says
Hi this recipe for vanilla biscuits is a very nice recipe. thank you. i added cake fruit mix. will definitely keep this recipe!
romana says
125 gram margarine: can you convert this to cups please?
justamumnz says
I do not work with cups of butter sorry, but grams are a universal unit of measurement so you should be able to convert to whatever unit of measurement you use. Remember to specify if your cup is 240 or 250mls when converting.
Jody Tait says
I think I did something wrong. I used your cup measurements as I don’t have scales and the dough seems very dry. I managed to get them Into little balls though, and They are in the oven now so we’ll see! Looking forward to trying them though!
Shona McCutcheon says
Is this recipe foe fan bake or do I take the temperature down
justamumnz says
This recipe and all of my others is based on conventional bake, if you only have fan bake you usually need to reduce the temp up to 20 degrees depending on your oven.
Lu says
I have been banned making biscuits by my daughter ?. The biscuits were so tiny and I thought that was strange, I forgot the baking powder, duh! Still taste nice.
justamumnz says
Ha ha oh dear!
kirsti says
I love these! They remind me of the Edmonds Sante cookies!
Sue Selwyn says
This is a very versatile recipe. Last week I added cranberries and chocolate chips, Deliciouse. Thanks
Angela says
Does this receipt use plain or SR flour, a couple of the recipes on this site don’t state which one is used, a regular baker may know which one to use but us beginners need some details. Thanks
justamumnz says
Hi, great question, unless stated it means plain flour but I’ll make a note to specify from now on 🙂
Megs says
How much is the flour and sugar in cup measurements please? I don’t own scales.
justamumnz says
Hi Megs, 250g of sugar is 1 1/4 cups of sugar, and 250g flour is 2 cups of flour. Happy baking 🙂
Sarah Blair says
These are so easy and versatile and the kids love them! Definitely one of my favourites to make!
justamumnz says
Awesome – so nice to hear that my Mums recipe is being enjoyed. 🙂
emilyjeffree says
Yum- defo chocolate chips for me!
Just a Mum says
Ha ha – my kids agree with you! For me they are more traditional with juicy sultanas but both taste good ! 🙂