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1
Whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt together in a medium bowl to aerate and remove any lumps; set aside.
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2
Place the shortening, brown sugar, egg, and molasses in a large bowl and stir with a wooden spoon until combined and smooth.
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3
Add the flour mixture and stir until combined and a soft dough forms.
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4
Cover the bowl and refrigerate until the dough is well chilled, at least 3 hours or overnight.
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5
When the dough is ready, heat the oven to 375 degrees F and arrange 2 racks to divide the oven into thirds.
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6
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
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7
Place the coarse-grained or sanding sugar in a large dish and spread it into an even layer.
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8
Form the chilled dough into 12 (1-inch) balls (about 1 tablespoon each) and place them in the sugar (do not roll them in the sugar though).
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9
Press gently on them so that the sugar adheres to the bottoms.
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10
Place the dough balls sugar-side up and 2 inches apart on 1 of the prepared baking sheets.
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11
Repeat to fill the second baking sheet.
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12
(Chill the remaining dough.)
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13
Bake for 6 minutes.
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14
Rotate the sheets from front to back and top to bottom.
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15
Continue baking until the edges of the cookies are set but the tops are still a little soft, about 5 to 6 minutes more.
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16
Place the baking sheets on wire racks and cool for 5 minutes.
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17
Using a flat spatula, transfer the cookies to the wire racks to cool completely.
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18
Repeat with the remaining dough (you can use the same baking sheets and parchment paper while still warm).
