In a large bowl, beat the soft butter with the brown sugar until it’s smooth. Beat in the egg and the vanilla.

In another bowl, stir together the flour, the baking powder, the cinnamon, the nutmeg and the ground cloves. Stir the dry ingredients into the butter mixture until blended.

Gather the dough into a ball and wrap it in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least an hour but up until 24 hours. We usually do about 2 hours and it’s perfect.

When you’re ready to use it, preheat your oven to 350°F.

Prepare a baking sheet with cooking spray, shortening or parchment paper.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the cookie dough to about ? inch thickness. Using a cookie cutter, cut out desired shapes – we used a scalloped rectangle but you could use fun shapes too. Place the cut out cookies on the prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart. These do expand a little and puff, so don’t get them too close together.

Place the baking sheet in the center of the oven and bake for about 10 to 12 minutes or just until edges begin to brown. I usually remove them at about the 8-10 minute mark so they stay soft.

Remove from the oven and allow them to cool. Decorate as desired.