• Line a large tray with baking paper.
• Mix the butter and sugar together until smooth. Then stir in the vanilla extract.
• Add the flour and mix well until the mixture starts to stick together. Then use your hands to press everything together into a ball of dough.
• Roll the dough onto a lightly floured surface until it's around ¼-inch thick. Cut out your cookies using a 3-inch cookie cutter, re-rolling scrap pieces together until all of the dough is used up.
• Place the cookies onto your lined tray then pop them in the fridge for 30 minutes. This will help them to hold their shape in the oven.
• Preheat your oven to 180℃/350℉ (160℃/320℉ for fan and convection ovens).
• Bake for 18-20 minutes until the cookies are firm around the edges. Let them cool on the tray.

Decoration:

• Melt the dark chocolate then dip both sides of the cookies into it at an angle, leaving a small gap uncovered in the middle.
• While the chocolate is still wet, stick 2 edible eyes onto each cookie then add one orange candy for the nose.
• Pipe two 'buttons' onto the uncovered section of each cookie using the writing icing or melted chocolate.
• Let the chocolate set then enjoy your shortbread!