Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl until mixture is light and soft, beat in the cocoa powder (sieving if it is lumpy), then beat in the flour with the bicarb and baking powder.
3. This mixture is very soft and sticky, so pinch off pieces about the size of a large walnut, roll them into balls, then slightly flatten into fat discs as you place them, well spaced, on your baking sheet; you should get about 12 on at a time.
4. Bake each batch for 15 minutes. They will look slightly cracked on top.
5. Remove the baking sheet to a cold surface and let it sit for 15 minutes before transferring the biscuits to a wire rack.
6. To make the topping, put the cocoa powder, icing sugar, water and vanilla extract into a small saucepan and whisk over a low heat until everything’s smoothly combined. Take off the heat for 10 minutes.
7. When the biscuits are cool, drizzle each one with a tablespoonful of chocolate glaze – to glue the sprinkles on in a minute – using the back of the spoon to help spread the mixture, though an uneven dribbly look is part of their charm.
8. After you’ve iced biscuits, scatter with some of the Christmas sprinkles, making sure the cocoa “glue” hasn’t dried before you use the sprinkles.