Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place the softened butter and sugar in a bowl. Cream them together for a couple of minutes, or until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Add the egg and molasses, and stir them into the creamed butter and sugar until they are completely mixed in.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, and spices.

Stir the dry ingredients into the wet and mix until well combined.

Scoop the cookie dough into 1 tablespoon balls. I like this scoop from OXO for quick, easy, uniform cookies.

Place the extra 1/2 cup of sugar in a bowl. Roll each ball of cookie dough in the sugar, then place them on the parchment-lined baking sheet at least 2 inches apart.

Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes. At 8 minutes, they’ll be done but very soft and chewy. If you give them a couple of extra minutes in the oven, the bottoms will be a bit crispier.

Remove the gingersnaps from the oven and let them cool and firm up on the baking tray for a couple of minutes. Remove them to a cooling rack to cool completely.