Chocolate snowballs

Method

1. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, making sure the base of the bowl doesn’t touch the water, stirring occasionally.
2. Using an electric hand whisk, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Stir in the vanilla, melted chocolate and milk.
3. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, allspice and a pinch of salt into the bowl and mix well to combine. Stir in the pecans. Chill, covered, for 3 hours, or overnight.
4. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan160°C/gas 4. Lightly grease 2 baking sheets. Sift some icing sugar onto a plate. Roll heaped teaspoonfuls of mixture into balls, then roll in the icing sugar to coat. Place on the baking trays, spaced a couple of centimetres apart to allow for spreading.
5. Bake for 15 minutes until lightly browned and still a little soft in the centre. Leave to cool on the trays for 3-4 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Wrap in cellophane or put in an airtight glass jar and eat within one week.