Bring all ingredients to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

Soften the butter until you can make a dent in it with your finger.

Cream the butter, sugar, vanilla, and spices together until light and fluffy. Using a stand mixer or handheld electric beater.

Add in the eggs, and beat until well incorporated.

Combine the baking powder and salt with the flour, giving a mix to make sure it is evenly distributed.

Combine the flour with the butter mix using the stand mixer or electric beater until just combined.

Roll the dough out between 2 sheets of baking paper until about 5mm thick. Then sprinkle with chocolate chips and roll again to make sure they are embedded in the dough. Alternatively, add the chocolate chips to the dough after you have cut them out.

Allow the cookies to rest in the fridge for 15- 30 minutes. This allows the butter in the cookie to set up for baking.

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Cut out the cookies using a cookie-cutter about 5cm in diameter (or any shape that feels like Easter to you). Recombine and roll out the leftover dough until you have used up as much as possible.

Place the biscuits on a baking paper-lined cookie sheet, approximately 5cm apart, and bake for 8 - 10 minutes. the edges will be crispy and the centre will be soft. Let the biscuits rest on the cookie sheet for about 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack using a spatula.

Allow the biscuits to cool completely on the wire rack.

For Hot Cross Bun Biscuit Crosses (Optional Extra)

Using a whisk, mix together the icing sugar, vanilla extract and milk 1 tablespoon at a time until you have a nice piping consistency.

Place the icing sugar into a piping bag with a small tip (sized to the desired width of your crosses).

Allow the icing to set before serving.

You can store the cookies in an air-tight container at room temperature for about a week.