Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350º F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set them aside.

Step 2

Using a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and brown sugar for about 1 minute. Add the molasses and egg yolk and mix until incorporated.

Step 3

Sift the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt together and add it to the wet mixture. Mix on medium-high until the dough comes together and a sticky ball forms, about 2 minutes. Scrape the sides as needed. The dough will look dry at first, but as it's mixed, it will form a sticky dough.

Step 4

Add the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead it for a minute or until it's easy to handle and no longer sticky. Form the dough into a ball.

Step 5

Roll out the dough onto a lightly floured surface until it's about 1/8 of an inch (2-3 mm).

Step 6

Cut the cookies into desired shapes and place them on the prepared baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Re-roll the leftover dough and continue to cut the dough into the desired shapes. Depending on how large you make the cookies and how thin you roll them out, you should be able to make about 20-24 cookies.

Step 7

Bake the cookies in batches for 6-8 minutes for chewier cookies or 10 minutes for crispy cookies that you can use to decorate your Christmas tree.

Step 8

Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes to firm up before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Step 9

Combine the egg whites and powdered sugar in a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Mix the ingredients on medium-high for 4-5 minutes, adding water as needed to ensure the right consistency. You want the icing to be thick but still pourable.

Step 10

Add the icing to a piping bag fitted with a round tip and pipe desired decorations on the cooled cookies. Allow the cookies to sit at room temperature for 2-3 hours to allow the icing to set. Store leftover cookies in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to one week. Leftover royal icing can be saved in an air-tight container at room temperature for one week.