Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Line 2 half sheet pans with parchment paper. Sift together 12 ½ oz all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 2 tablespoons ground ginger, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp ground black pepper and ¼ teaspoon ground cloves. Set aside
On medium high speed, cream together 3 oz unsalted butter, 3 oz vegetable shortening and 8 oz dark brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add 4 oz molasses and mix to combine. Add 1 large egg and mix to combine. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined.
Place ½ cup granulated sugar into a wide shallow bowl. Use a scooper or a tablespoon to portion the cookies into 1 1/2" balls. Drop each cookie ball into the granulated sugar and roll to coat. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets.
Bake until the cookies are set, about 12-15 minutes (see note). As they bake the cookies will puff up, then settle down and crackle. Cool on the sheet pan for 5 minutes and then transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
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Notes
If measuring the flour by volume use the “dip & sweep” method. That is, dip the measuring cup into the flour bin, overfill it, then sweep away the excess.If you want cookies with a slightly chewy center bake until the centers are still a bit soft (closer to 12-13 minutes). If you want cookies that are crisp all the way through bake until the center of the cookie is set (closer to 15 minutes). For crisp cookies allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking pan rather than transferring to a cooling rack.