Preheat the oven to 350°

line baking sheet with parchment and set aside

in a medium bowl mix the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, salt, nutmeg, and cloves with a whisk, and then set aside

in a larger mixing bowl beat the butter and sugar together until soft and fluffy, 2-3 minutes

beat in the eggs and vanilla

add the molasses and beat well

fold into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined

then roll into tablespoon-sized balls

place cookies 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets

flatten balls slightly

bake 12-14 minutes until just baked, cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes

transfer the cookies to cooling racks and cool completely

make the icing by stirring the powdered sugar and vanilla together

drizzle in just enough of the cream to make a thick icing

spoon onto the cooled cookies, spread with the back of the spoon

let the iced molasses cookies sit until the icing is set up