Cream the butter and sugar in a mixer. Add the spices and treacle and beat again, then add 2 tbsp of the milk

https://cookpad.wasmer.app/us/recipes/359496-vickys-sweet-mixed-spice-for-baked-goods

Add the flour and baking soda then using your hands, bring the dough together into a ball. Add more milk a teaspoon at a time if you need it but don't let the dough become too sticky. Wrap it in clingfilm and refrigerate for half an hour

Lightly flour your surface and roll out the dough 3mm thick. Cut out your shapes and put them on to two lightly greased baking-sheets. Gather the remaining dough into a ball, roll out again and keep cutting until it has all been used

Put the baking sheets in the fridge for about 45 minutes, meanwhile preheat the oven to gas 4 / 180C / 350°F. Bake for 12 minutes. They should start to feel hard round the edges as they cool and eventually become really hard. They need to have a nice 'snap'

Decorate with icing sugar mixed with a little water or brush with marmalade as I did and cut out the same shapes from ready roll icing and stick on top of the cookies. Be creative with piping icing and embellishments