In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, spices, baking soda and salt until well combined. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat butter, brown sugar and molasses with an electric mixer until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg and beat until combined. With the mixer on low, gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients until dough just comes together. Do not overmix! Divide dough in half. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator until firm, about 1 hour or overnight if you want to make it ahead to save time.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Take dough out of the fridge and let rest about 10 minutes. Roll dough out to ¼” thickness on lightly floured surface. I used about ¼ cup of flour per disc of dough. If dough is too soft, you can work in some of the flour. Cut out gingerbread men with a 4-inch cutter. Remove excess dough, then transfer cookies to parchment lined baking sheets. (I prefer half sheet pans as they have a raised edge.) Roll out scraps and remaining dough in the same way, adding flour to surface when needed to keep dough from sticking.

Bake cookies for 9-10 minutes. Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough. Decorate cooled cookies with royal icing (recipe follows) and sprinkles as desired.

Combine all royal icing ingredients. Beat at low speed until moistened. Beat at medium speed 1-3 minutes or until slightly thickened and glossy. Keep covered until ready to use.