hands right in the bowl and mix the ingredients with your fingers. Check you have the right temperature of water for making bread dough by putting your fingers in a bowl of water; it should feel nice and warm – neither too hot nor too cold. Keep adding

to table. Seeing as it’s written by two Aussies, I just had to include an excellent barbecue recipe… You will need a barbecue with a lid and a pizza stone. If you don’t have one, an oven still gets great results.Makes 6 pizzasIngredients2 tsp caster sugar1

Don’t just stick to the same pattern of gingerbread men – personalise your family in all shapes and sizes. Makes four to sixIngredients350g (12oz) plain flour1 tsp bicarbonate of soda100g (31/2oz) butter, straight from fridge, cut into 1cm cubes2

Ready Steady Party by Lucy Broadhurst (Murdoch Books, £12.99) is jam-packed with ideas for different party themes, as well as a variety of great party food and drink recipes, including these scrumptious Strawberry Pillows.Strawberry PillowsMakes 18

Makes 48 cookiesIngredientsNon-stick cooking spray 140g (5oz) rolled oats 120g (4oz) wholewheat pastry flour or white wholewheat flour 100g (31/2oz) raisins 1/2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp nutmeg  1/4 tsp salt 6 tbsp rapeseed oil

fingers until it looks like breadcrumbs. Add the grated cheese and mustard powder and mix through. Pour in the milk and stir with your fingers to make a soft dough. Dust a work surface, rolling pin and your hands with flour to stop the dough sticking

 (Ryland Peters & Small,£16.99). There are lots of easy-to-make recipes, but Coco’s favourite is this Double Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe. Double Chocolate Chip CookiesMakes 12Ingredients50g (13/4oz) unsalted butter450g (1lb) dark chocolate, chopped2 eggs170g (6

Makes 24 cookies Don’t use an electric mixer – it will make the cookies tough. IngredientsNon-stick cooking spray100g (4oz) wholewheat flour100g (4oz) old-fashioned oats1 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp cinnamon150g (6oz) of firmly-packed light