Preheat an oven to 375°F, and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda (if you want cakey cookies – optional!), salt, cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla until incorporated. Then, beat in the molasses until thoroughly mixed.

Add half of the flour mixture until incorporated. Mix in the remaining flour mix. Use your hands to knead the dough until it comes together and there are no dry spots.

Roll the dough, 2 tablespoons at a time, and then flatten each ball into a disc. Dust a cookie stamp lightly with flour and firmly press the cookie stamp into one of the balls of dough. Repeat with remaining dough until all of your cookies are stamped. If you want clean edges, use a 2-2 1/2 inch cookie cutter to cut off the rough edges.

Line the cookies on the prepared sheets 2 inches apart. **Optional: refrigerate the cookies for 30 minutes – I do this to ensure the design on the cookies remains pronounced. However, I’ve baked them from room temperature, and it doesn’t make a huge difference. Up to you!** Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes until just baked. They will puff up a little, but they will deflate once they cool.

Let the cookies cool on the sheet pan for a few minutes, and then place the cookies on a rack and let cool completely. Glaze with the orange glaze (below), and let the glaze harden. Store in an airtight container for up to three days.

In a small bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients. Add more milk if it’s too thick or powdered sugar if it’s too thin. Glaze the cookies!