Preheat the oven to 375° F. Line two baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, measure the flour, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, baking soda and salt. Whisk to combine and aerate. In a large mixing bowl (4-5qt) cream the butter with the sugar for 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, then the molasses. Once the molasses is mixed in, mix another minute or two until the mixture lightens slightly in color.
Pour the dry ingredients over the wet (if your ground ginger is lumpy, sift the dry ingredients in), and mix on low until no dry bits remain.
Scoop 12-15 cookies per half-sheet pan using a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop (or with a dinner spoon).
Pour about 1/2 cup of sugar into a small bowl, and roll each ball of dough in the sugar to coat. Arrange the balls of dough back on the sheet tray, making sure to leave room for spreading.
Bake one tray at a time for 12 minutes, until the cookies are puffed and slightly more brown. Let each batch cool on the tray for at least 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely. The cookies will taste great warm but the texture and flavor is much better at room temperature.