• Combine the dry ingredients: Whisk together 560 grams cake flour (about 4 cups), 200 grams white sugar (about 1 cup), 10 milliliters cream of tartar and 2.5 milliliters salt in a large bowl until evenly combined.
  
• Cut in the butter: Rub 250 grams butter, cold and cubed into the flour mixture with your fingertips until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
• Bloom the bicarb: In a small dish, dissolve 5ml bicarbonate of soda into 30ml milk.
• Beat the eggs: In a separate bowl, beat 2 large eggs together with 5ml vanilla essence until well combined.
• Bring the dough together: Pour the bicarbonate-milk mixture and the beaten eggs into the flour mixture. Mix gently but thoroughly until a smooth, soft dough forms.
• Chill the dough: Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate to firm up.
• Roll and cut: On a lightly floured surface, roll the chilled dough out to an even 4mm thickness — no thicker, or the cookies will be too doughy in the middle. Cut out shapes using your favourite cookie cutter.
• Arrange on the tray: Place the cut cookies onto a greased baking tray, spaced slightly apart. Sprinkle the tops lightly with 30ml extra sugar, for sprinkling.
• Bake to golden perfection: Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C until just set and lightly golden at the edges.

Notes

• Preheat your oven to 180°C before you begin so it's ready when the dough comes out of the fridge. Keep an eye on thickness when rolling — slightly thin is better than too thick for that classic crisp-tender bite. Store in an airtight tin and they'll keep their charm for days (if they last that long).