I like to have snacks available. Sometimes I get unexpectedly hungry, and having something to hand is always useful. If you’ve baked it yourself, it’s that much more satisfying.

This recipe is for super-simple oat cookies which I personally like to spice up with a little cinnamon. Once made, they must be hidden from my daughter, who has a thing for cinnamon.

They rate a ten-out-of-ten on the frugality scale as they cost so little to make. They’re not the healthiest foodstuff in the world, but you can’t be virtuous in all areas of life, all the time!

I enjoy writing about finance, monetary freedoms and the disciplines we need to master to get to that goal. I don’t enjoy doing this on an empty stomach, however.

Not wanting to let my budget get shredded to pieces by my gastromonic impulses, I’ve had to build a collection of affordable meals I can cook at home over time. I’ll be collecting these into a group post once I have enough of them, but in the meantime, here is the first.

I made this last night when I had a sweet tooth and spent a quarter hour in the shop looking at the chocolate and biscuits and talking myself out of buying any. The ingredients are easy to find, the process simple, the result very satisfying.

For the enjoyment of your taste buds, I present to you, my Tarte Fine Aux Pommes, otherwise known as a (thin) apple tart.