Sift together:
3 1/2 cups sifted flour
1 t. baking soda
1 1/2 t. ginger
1 1/2 t. cinnamon
1 t. cloves
Cream 1/2 c. softened butter, gradually add 3/4 c. granulated sugar, cream until light and fluffy.
Add 1 egg, 3/4 c. molasses (I use the dark colored molasses), 2 t. grated orange rind (I usually skip this myself).
Beat well, stir in dry ingredients gradually, blend well. Flour surface you're going to roll dough out on (I use the half flour, half sugar also used for the sugar cookie recipe to flour the surface). Roll out to 1/8 inch thickness and cut with cookie cutters. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 min on lightly greased cookie sheets. Dough will keep a week or more in refrigerator.