LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW BISCUITS.

Soft, buttery biscuits rolled in icing sugar are so Christmassy, so right, so now.

Known around these parts as Snow Biscuits, these melt-in-the-mouth little treasures are very similar to Mexican wedding cakes or cookies, Spanish polverones, Greek kourabiedes and countless other names in countless other countries.

Anywhere, in fact, that is clever enough to work with little more than icing sugar, nuts and spices to create something very beautiful; which, more often than not, is also a culture that stretches back to monasteries and nunneries.

But for me they’re Snow Biscuits, even when culturally appropriated, and they come out at Christmas time ready to be dusted with icing sugar and taken with a restorative coffee. Or ouzo. Or anything.

They’re quite adorable, gently and festively spiced, with a soft chew to the base that saves them for being a confectionery rather than a biscuit. They’re very short, a culinary term used to describe baked goodies where the ratio of butter or fat makes the texture soft and crumbly. Hence, shortbread and shortcrust pastry.

Short is also shorthand for utterly delicious.

Cinnamon and vanilla are traditional to this genre of biscuit, but this year, I have smuggled in a few extra spices normally found in Dutch speculaas, another very festive treat.

There’s a big new book on baking out from Phaidon, by the way, called Crumbs. It’s geekily researched and impressively put together by author Ben Mims.

As an aside, here is his Speculaas Spice Mix, which I intend to use in a number of spectacularly non-speculaas ways over the Christmas era.

Ben Mims’ Speculaas Spice Mix from Crumbs.

Whisk together the following:

• 2 tbsp ground cinnamon

• 1½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

• 1 tsp ground cloves

• ¾ tsp ground ginger

• ½ tsp ground cardamom

• ½ tsp ground coriander

• ½ tsp ground white pepper

• ¼ tsp ground anise seeds

These amounts would be too overwhelming for these delicate biscuits, so I just added pinches of each to the full teaspoon of cinnamon called for by the recipe, which made them taste very Christmassy. Mind you, they would taste very Christmassy anyway.

SNOW BISCUITS

Makes 20 or so

• 200 g butter, softened

• 100 g icing sugar, plus 100 g for coating

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 250 g plain flour, sifted

• 100 g ground almonds or hazelnuts

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• Pinch each of ground nutmeg, cloves, ginger, cardamom, coriander, pepper, anise or any one or two of them you fancy

• Half tsp sea salt, ground

In a food processor or with an electric mixer, beat the butter, 100 g icing sugar and vanilla until light and creamy.

Gradually add the sifted flour, beating until blended.

Add the nuts, cinnamon, extra spices and sea salt, blending until it comes together.

Tip out onto the bench and push the dough together with your hands.

Cut the dough in two, roll each half into balls, wrap with cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm up.

Heat the oven to 180C, and line two baking sheets with baking paper.

Taking 2 tsp (30 g) of dough at a time, roll it into small balls between your palms and place on the trays, leaving a little room for spreading.

Bake the two trays for 15 to 17 minutes, switching them after the first 10 minutes, until golden on the base.

Gently lift and transfer each biscuit to a wire baking rack and allow to cool for 15 minutes.

Roll the biscuits in a bowl of icing sugar (no need to do the base), shake off any excess, allow to cool completely, and store in an airtight container.

# A dash of orange blossom or rose water is lovely in this.

# If you don’t want the ‘snow’ finish, consider beating lemon juice into 2 tbsp icing sugar, adding it until you get it gently runny, then drizzling it over the biscuits in whatever form you like.

A NOTE ON ICING SUGAR: You’ll find two different icing sugars on the supermarket shelf in Australia – pure icing sugar, and soft, or mixed, icing sugar. Pure is what it says on the pack – just sugar, but it does have a tendency, when cold, to clump into small icebergs that when touched, shatter all over the kitchen bench. I respect pure icing sugar, but I can’t say we’re friends. Soft icing sugar is mixed with a little cornflour which stops it clumping. Either version is fine for this. Tip: If your pure icing sugar is clumpy, just whiz in a food processor.

Thanks for dropping by! And as always, thanks for your comments and suggestions. Special thanks to Terry for getting the lumps out of the icing sugar.

I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands and waters upon which I work, live, cook and play; the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, and pay my respects to Elders past and present, and to the continuing strength and resilience of First Nations people, communities and cultures.