In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and icing sugar together until they are smooth, creamy and light.

Stir the sifted flour and spices into the mixture in two lots.

Press the dough together in the bowl then turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it until smooth.

Roll the dough into a log about 2.5cm in diameter. Cut a piece from each end to neaten them up and roll the pieces into skinny logs.

Wrap each log in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Pre-heat the oven to 160C fan-forced.

Cut the large log into 20 rounds and place on a lined oven tray.

Cut the smaller logs into 40 pieces and press 2 pieces to the top of each of the big rounds.

Press a chocolate chip into each small round to form eyes and an almond between the eyes to form a beak.

Press the prongs of a fork into the bottom of each biscuit to form feet.

Bake the cookies for approximately 12 minutes.

Let the baked cookies rest on the tray for 5 minutes then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.