In a bowl, combine flour, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, ground nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. (If you are using fresh grated ginger, do not add it here; add it in Step 3.)
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until they’re light and fluffy. Stir in the egg, coffee, and molasses. If you’re using fresh grated ginger, add it here.
Slowly blend the flour mixture into the butter/sugar/egg mixture until all ingredients are well blended.
Shape the dough into 1-inch balls and roll them in white sugar.
Place dough balls 1 inch apart on parchment-covered baking sheets.
Bake for 12 to 14 minutes. (Note: It’s a good idea to test-bake a couple cookies before committing to a whole cookie sheet of dough.)
When cookies are done, let them rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.
