Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare a baking sheet with silicone baking mat or parchment paper.

  In a stand mixer or electric hand mixer, cream together butter, white sugar and brown sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes
• Add egg, vanilla, and salt and mix well, about 1 minute until fluffy.
• Add in all spices: cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg, and the molasses and mix together until the molasses is evenly distributed throughout the dough.
• Add in the flour and baking soda, and mix it in until there are no flour pockets left, about 1 minute.
• Scoop or roll into balls (I use a 1.5 Tablespoon cookie scoop) and roll in a shallow dish of white granulated sugar.
• Arrange on prepared baking sheet and bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.
• In a bowl or small zip close bag combine the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla and mix until there are no lumps of powdered sugar left. Carefully snip a tiny hole in one corner.
• Pipe an "X" shape on the cookie, and then a line sideways or vertical to make a 6 branch star.
• Add a small dot in the center of every triangle.
• At the end of every branch of the star, pipe a small "V" going over the branch to form the end of the snowflakes.
• Optional: Before the icing dries, dip the cookies in sugar to give the snowflakes a crystal snow effect. Wait for the icing to harden - 30 minutes to 1 hour before stacking together or freezing.