Whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, baking soda and salt.

Beat the softened butter and brown sugar until smooth and creamy.

Beat in the egg, molasses and vanilla until thoroughly combined.

Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing just until a soft dough forms.

Divide the dough into two disks, wrap tightly and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Working with one portion at a time, roll the chilled dough on a lightly floured surface to approximately ¼-inch thickness.

Use gingerbread people, stars, Christmas trees or other holiday cookie cutters to cut the dough.

Arrange on the prepared baking sheets and bake for 8–10 minutes. For softer cookies, remove them when the centers have set but still look slightly soft.

Allow the cookies to rest briefly on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack.

Whisk the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla and optional corn syrup until smooth and thick enough for decorating.

Pipe simple white icing designs onto the completely cooled cookies and allow the icing to set before storing.