7 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup sugar
½ cup light brown sugar, packed
1 large egg (or ¼ cup Egg Beaters)
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
2½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 2/3 cups (8¼-ounces) all purpose flour

In a bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy.  Add the sugars and beat until well blended, about 2 minutes.  Add the egg, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and vanilla extract, and beat until well incorporated.  Add the flour in 3 additions, mixing on the lowest speed only until the flour disappears into the soft dough.  Using a spatula, stir the dough 2 or 3 times, just enough to eliminate any dry spots.

Transfer the soft, sticky dough to a gallon-size ziploc bag.  Put the bag on a flat surface.  Leaving the top open, roll the dough into a ¼-inch thick rectangle that completely fills the bag.  As you roll, turn the bag occasionally and lift the plastic from the dough so that it doesn't cause creases.  Seal the bag, and refrigerate the dough for at least 3 hours, or for up to 3 days.

Preheat the oven to 350° F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

Put the ziploc bag on a cutting board and slit it open.  Turn the firm dough onto a parchment lined board or counter dusted with confectioners' sugar; discard the bag.  Choose a cookie cutter � I used a scalloped 1 x 3-inch cutter � and cut as many cookies as you can from the dough, carefully lifting the cutouts to the parchment lined baking sheet.  Combine any scraps of dough and roll out ¼-inch thick; cut remaining cookies.

Bake at 350° F for 10 to 12 minutes, until they are just slightly brown around the edges.  Allow the cookies to rest on the baking sheet for several minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool.  Yield:  30 cookies (or more or less depending on the size of the cookie cutter).