1/2teaspoonfine table salt, reduce to 1/4 tsp. if you used salted butter
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Instructions
Heat the oven to 325° F. (not fan assisted) with rack in centre of oven and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat.
In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, mixing until thoroughly incorporated. If necessary, scrape down the bowl to make sure the butter is all mixed in. Beat in the molasses briefly.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ground ginger, salt and ground cloves. With the mixer running, slowly add the dry ingredients to the mixture until completely incorporated.
Spoon the batter into mounds, about 2 Tablespoons each and place on prepared cookie sheet. Space the cookies at least 3 to 4 inches apart, as they will spread! (I bake only 6 at a time on a half sheet pan.)
Baking time will vary depending on your oven, weight of your baking sheet and how you like your cookies. Cookies will puff up as they bake, but will deflate considerably as they near the end of baking. You'll want to let them bake until they are mostly deflated and some degree of golden, which is typically 14-16 minutes. (The darker the cookie the crispier it will be). If you prefer a slightly chewier cookie, bake a minute or so less. Also note that 2nd and subsequent batches will bake more quickly as the baking pan is now warm. Check a couple of minutes earlier on those batches.
Remove from oven and allow cookies to sit on the baking sheet until they firm (about a minute or two) up enough to move to a cooling rack. Cookies will firm up more as they cool.
Notes
Note 1: If you have a kitchen scale, use the gram measurements for the flour, for best accuracy. If using cups, be sure you spoon the flour into the dry measuring cup and then use the flat edge of a knife to level off the cup. The cup measurements give assume a 130g cup of flour.*Note that the baking time is for one batch. I generally bake 6 cookies at a time on a half-sheet pan, so count on baking 3 batches at 15 minutes bake time per batch. You can also refrigerate the dough and bake off later or freeze, if you like.Be sure to read the Cook's Notes above the Recipe Card, for more tips on making these cookies.