Combine Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the plain flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt, ground ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves. Set this aside. Mixing the spices in with the flour ensures they are evenly distributed throughout the dough.

Cream Butter and Sugar: In a large bowl, using an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter and dark soft brown sugar together on medium speed for about 2-3 minutes, until the mixture is light, creamy, and pale in colour.

Add Wet Ingredients: Beat in the egg and the black treacle until fully combined. The mixture might look a little split or curdled at this point, which is perfectly normal. Don't worry, it will all come together when you add the flour.

Combine Wet and Dry: Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the dry flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined, being careful not to overmix. I find it’s best to stop when there are still a few streaks of flour and finish mixing by hand with a spatula to avoid a tough cookie.

Chill the Dough: The dough will be quite soft. Scrape it out onto a piece of cling film, pat it into a flattened disc about an inch thick, and wrap it tightly. Place it in the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours, or overnight for an even deeper flavour.

Preheat and Prepare: When you're ready to bake, preheat your oven to 180°C (160°C fan) and line two large baking sheets with baking parchment.

Roll and Cut: Lightly flour your work surface and rolling pin. Unwrap the chilled dough and roll it out to a thickness of about 5mm (¼ inch). Use your favourite cookie cutters to cut out shapes, re-rolling the scraps as needed. Place the shapes on the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 5cm (2 inches) of space between them.

Bake to Perfection: Bake for 10-12 minutes. The cookies are done when the edges are set and slightly firm to the touch. The centres will still be quite soft – this is the secret to a chewy cookie! They will firm up as they cool.

Cool: Leave the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before carefully transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cool, they are ready to be decorated or enjoyed as they are.