Christmas cookies with a crackle

As the year draws to a close, we wanted to take the opportunity to say a sincere thank you from all of us for your ongoing support, and to extend our warmest wishes to you and your loved ones. We that hope you have a wonderful Christmas together and a healthy, happy and prosperous new year.

It has become something of a tradition for us to share with you a festive recipe at Christmastime. Last year, we shared the method for creating some dangerously delicious Swedish glögg, and the year prior, Jo's recipe for some very special Clementine mince pies. So we were really pleased when Isobel, the newest addition to our growing marketing team, agreed to share the recipe for her beautiful homemade Christmas Crackle cookies.

These decadent chocolate bites include just a touch of cinnamon are simply perfect for serving to those last minute guests, alongside a cup of coffee or perhaps even a glass of glögg. They look gorgeously festive too – and with their dark crackle and snowy white surface, we couldn't resist photographing them on a worktop, tiled with our handmade Aged Crackle tiles.

The ingredients

180g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
a pinch of cinnamon
a pinch of salt
60g cocoa powder
200g caster sugar
60ml vegetable oil
2 eggs
75g icing sugar

The method

1. Sieve together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and a pinch of salt.

2. In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa, caster sugar and oil. Add the eggs one by one, whisking until thoroughly combined.

3. Add the dry ingredients to the cocoa mixture and and mix to a soft dough. Chill the mixture in the fridge for at least an hour.

4. Preheat the oven to 190c / 170 fan and line a baking tray. Pop the icing sugar onto a saucer. Using a teaspoon, form the dough into small balls, rolling each one in icing sugar to coat. Spread the balls evenly on your baking tray

5. Bake on the middle shelf for ten minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack and leave to firm up as they cool.