In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.

Add the egg and molasses, and beat until smooth.

Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture and beat just until combined.

Scrape half of the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap, flatten into a disk. Wrap it tightly and store in the refrigerator. Repeat with the other half of the dough. Chill for two hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to 1/4" thickness for softer, chewier cookies, or 1/8" thickness for thinner, crispier cookies. Place cookies 1" apart on prepared baking sheet.

Bake 6-8 minutes, or until edges become golden brown. Cool on wire racks.

Place the powdered sugar in a medium bowl. Add the hot water, corn syrup and vanilla extract and stir well until smooth.

Spread or pipe the icing using a piping bag and a fine tip, and top immediately with the candies or sprinkles of your choice. Leave the cookies out at room temperature until set.