In a large bowl, or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar and blackstrap molasses on medium speed until creamy.

Add in the egg, sourdough starter and vanilla on medium speed until incorporated.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and allspice.

Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, and beat on low speed until combined.

Cut the dough in half and form two discs.

Wrap them in plastic wrap and place into the fridge for at least one hour, or up to three days for long fermentation.

When you're ready to bake the cookies, set one disc of chilled dough out to come closer to room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 350° and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Roll your disc out to ¼” thickness on a lightly floured surface.

Cut into desired shapes and place cookies 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets. Repeat with the other disc.

Bake for 10 minutes. Cookies will look slightly underdone and edges will be golden but not dark. For crispier cookies, bake a little longer.

Allow the cookies to cool completely before decorating, approximately 30 minutes.

Prepare royal icing per instructions below.

Decorate as desired!

Add powdered sugar, water, and meringue powder to the bowl of a stand mixer.

Using your wire whisk attachment, beat the ingredients at high speed for approximately 2 minutes.

If your icing is too thin, continue beating until thickened, or alternatively you can add more powdered sugar.

Once applied to the cookie, royal icing typically dries within a couple hours.