Collect together your equipment (see Recipe Notes below) and ingredients.

First make the spice mix: measure out all the ingredients and stir to mix thoroughly. Top tip: if you know you will be making more than one batch of these cookies, make up double or triple the mix, ready for next time!

Now make the cookie dough: beat the sugar and butter with an electric whisk until light and fluffy. This will take around 5 minutes and you may need to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula half-way through.

Add the egg and beat until combined.

Now sieve in the flour, cocoa, spice mix, baking powder and salt and stir until roughly combined

Beat on a slow speed until thoroughly mixed.

Tip out onto a piece of cling film and wrap up the dough shaping it as you wrap it. Refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to Fan Oven 160°C /180°C/350°F/Gas 4

Lightly flour a work surface and roll out the dough to roughly 5mm thick. Cut out as many shapes as you can with your cookie cutter and place them on a baking tray leaving space for expansion when they cook. Re-roll leftover dough, cut out the remaining cookies and add them to the baking tray.

NB If you are using a stamp, make sure you use a cookie cutter the same size as the stamp.

How to use the cookie stamp:

- Press the floury side of the cookie onto the stamp.

- Press down quite firmly onto the stamp to ensure you get a good imprint.

- Tip out onto the table.

- Use the cookie cutter to trim and neaten the edges of the cookie, if necessary.

Brush excess flour off the top of the cookies, using a pastry brush.

Place spread out on a lightly greased baking tray.

Bake in a preheated oven for 14 – 15 minutes. If I am cooking one tray at a time, I cook them for 14 minutes. If cooking 2 trays at a time, cook for 7½ minutes, rotate the trays and cook for a further 7½ minutes – 15 minutes in total.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the baking trays for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, transfer to a cooling rack

Ice the cookies: add all the icing ingredients to a bowl – start with 2 tablespoons milk and add more, as necessary.

Beat well with a balloon whisk. The icing should be quite runny – roughly the thickness of double/heavy cream.

Lay the cookies on a rack over a baking tray to catch the drips.

Brush the icing onto the cookies with a pastry brush. Leave on the cooling rack to dry.