Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C) and line 1 large or 2 medium baking sheets with parchment paper.

Beat the butter with the cane sugar and brown sugar until fluffy. You can do this by hand or with a mixer. Add the vanilla and mix again just enough to combine.

To the butter mixture add the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and black pepper and mix gently to form a thick cookie dough. The mixture will be quite stiff and look a bit like thick, wet sand. Don't be tempted to add milk to the dough, or you won't get the intended results.

Roll the dough into balls (I used a 1½ tablespoon cookie scoop), then roll each ball in sugar and place on the baking tray, leaving at least 2 inches around each one to allow for spreading.

Bake for 16 to 20 minutes until puffy-looking and cracked on top. They will feel soft while warm and firm up as they cool. With a light baking tray, 16 minutes will give you chewy, slightly underbaked centres. 20 to 21 minutes will give you crisper 'snappy' cookies once they cool. Adjust depending on how you like your cookies. Note that if you use a dark baking tray they will be ready a little quicker.

Remove from the oven and give the tray a very sharp tap to knock the air out of the cookies, improving texture and crackles. I bang it on my cast-iron stove top, or you can bang it on a wooden cutting board.

Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet.