Soften the butter first in the bowl to room temperature. Stir the spices into the brown sugar, then add to the butter and mix until creamy. Add the egg, molasses and baking soda then mix thoroughly. Add flour, then chill until set. Roll thin, cut out shapes. Bake at 350º for about 5 minutes or until barely firm but not browned. Much more delicate but not so delicate that they break.

Roll directly onto silicone baking mat, then scoot the mat onto the baking sheet before putting in the oven. (You can use parchment paper but that slides about my counter while I'm rolling.) You can then cut the cookies in place, peel the extra dough from around them, and never have to move the cookies until after they're baked – that keeps their shape perfectly. (Editor's note: Brilliant technique!)
It's a pain to try to roll a whole sheet of dough, so I roll small chunks at a time.
This recipe doesn't spread so you only need about 1/2" between cookies while baking.
Chilling the dough at least 1 hour to set (the flour needs time to absorb the moisture completely).
Spray your measuring cup with non-stick spray first so you can get all the molasses out.


Below is the recipe I used for the gingerbread I just made. I went conservative with the flour because sometimes the weather changes the moisture, and I've had times when too much flour made the dough too crumbly to roll. I think it needed up to 1/2 cup more flour to roll without sticking. Below are some additional tips: