Gingerbread Cookies

Put the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove in a bowl. Sift them together or whisk until the spices are evenly spread through the flour, then set the bowl aside.

Beat the soft butter and light brown sugar together until the mixture turns pale and looks fluffy. Use butter at room temperature - cold butter will not blend properly and the dough stays grainy.

Add the egg, molasses and vanilla extract to the bowl. It will look curdled and separated at first. That is normal, so do not panic and do not add extra flour to fix it.

Keep beating. After a minute or two the mixture pulls back together and turns smooth and fluffy again. Wait for that change before you move on.

Add the spiced flour mixture and mix only until it is evenly combined. Scrape down the bowl and check the bottom for dry pockets, then stop - overmixing here toughens the cookies.

Split the dough in half and flatten each piece into a disc. Roll it out between two sheets of parchment to about a quarter inch thick, with a towel underneath so the paper does not slide. Rolling between parchment instead of dusting with flour keeps the cookies neat and stops them turning crunchy. Chill the rolled sheets in the fridge for about an hour.

Peel the parchment off both sides and cut out your shapes. Chilled dough cuts cleanly and holds its edges. Gather the scraps, re-roll them between parchment, chill again and cut the rest.

Bake at 350F for seven to ten minutes. Seven minutes gives you a soft cookie, ten gives you a crunchy one, and eight lands crisp at the edge with a soft middle. Thickness and how cold the dough was both shift the timing, so watch the first tray.

Sift the powdered sugar through a fine sieve, especially if it is lumpy. Add the milk and whisk until smooth, scraping the sides and the bottom of the bowl so no dry sugar hides there. Move it into a piping bag straight away before the surface starts to crust.

Use the thicker icing to pipe outlines and detail. For filling in larger areas, thin a portion with a little more milk. Let the cookies cool completely first or the icing will slide.