Speculoos (Spiced Caramel Biscuits)

Cream butter and sugar. Beat the butter and dark brown soft sugar on medium speed for 3-4 minutes, until lighter in colour and creamy, then beat in the milk. The dark brown sugar brings both a deep caramel flavour and some of the moisture that holds the dough together.

Mix in dry ingredients. Whisk the flour, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, cloves, bicarbonate of soda and salt together, then add to the butter mixture on low speed until a firm dough forms. There's no egg in this dough, which is exactly what bakes into a crisp, snappy biscuit rather than a soft one.

Roll and chill. Roll the dough between two sheets of baking paper to 4mm thick, slide it onto a tray and chill for 1 hour until firm. Cold dough cuts cleanly and holds its sharp edges, while warm dough tends to smear at the cut lines.

Heat the oven. Give the oven at least 20 minutes to reach 175°C (155°C fan) before baking. A fully heated oven helps the biscuits dry out evenly for that characteristic snap.

Cut into shapes. Cut the dough into 7 x 4cm rectangles and space them 2cm apart on the metal lined trays. Gather, re-roll and chill the scraps once to use up the dough without overworking it.

Bake until darkened at the edges. Bake one tray at a time for 12-15 minutes, until the biscuits are firm, dry on top and a shade darker at the edges. That slight darkening shows the sugars at the edge have caramelised, which is where much of the flavour comes from.

Cool to crisp up. Cool on the tray for 10 minutes, then move to a wire rack. They continue to crisp up as they cool, so they'll feel firmer once fully cold than they do straight from the oven.