Preparing the Batter

1. In a bowl take butter and beat until creamy, next add brown sugar and molasses and beat on medium-high speed until creamy.

2. Add egg and vanilla extract, beat at high speed for 2 minutes.

3. Sift and add flour, salt, baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves into the mixture and mix all together to form a dough.

4. Divide the dough into half, make them into a disc shape and wrap them tightly in a plastic wrap.

5. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Baking the cookies

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F or 175 C.

2. Remove 1 disc of the chilled dough and roll out the disc until ¼ inch thick. With the help of a gingerbread man cookie cutter, cut into shapes.

3. Bake the cookies for about 9-10 minutes for soft cookies (to make it little bit crisp bake for few more minutes)

4. Allow the cookies to cool completely after cooling, decorate as desired.

Preparing the Royal Icing

1. In a bowl take powdered sugar, meringue powder, and vanilla extract and beat for 2-3 minutes adding water gradually (1 teaspoon at a time)

2. Beat until stiff peaks are formed.

3. Divide the icing into different bowls and add desired colors.

4. Fill it into individual piping bags for decorating.