In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. Set the dry mixture aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the softened butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy using an electric mixer.

Add the egg, molasses, and pure vanilla extract to the creamed butter and sugar. Mix until well combined.

Gradually add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients in the large bowl. Mix until a soft dough forms.

Divide the dough into two equal portions, and wrap each portion with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour to make the dough easier to handle.

Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out one portion of the chilled dough to about 1/4 inch thickness. Use gingerbread cookie cutters of your choice to cut out shapes, and transfer them to the prepared baking sheet, leaving some space between each cookie.

Gather the scraps, reroll the dough, and continue cutting out cookies until you use up all the dough.

Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for approximately 8-10 minutes or until the edges are slightly darker. Keep a close eye on them to avoid over-baking.

Once baked, remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

In a clean mixing bowl, prepare the royal icing by whisking together powdered sugar, egg white, and vanilla extract until smooth and glossy.

For colored icing, divide the royal icing into separate bowls and add a few drops of food coloring to each bowl until you achieve the desired shades.

Transfer the colored icing to piping bags fitted with small round tips or use resealable plastic bags with tiny holes cut at the corners.

Decorate the cooled gingerbread cookies with the royal icing, creating intricate designs or simply outlining the cookies' shapes.

Allow the icing to set completely before storing or serving the cookies.