Cookies:

In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the molasses, followed by the egg.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, baking soda, ground cloves, ground nutmeg, and kosher salt.

Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Mix on medium-high speed until just combined. Dough will feel sticky.

Flatten dough into two 6-inch discs. Wrap in clingfilm/plastic wrap and refrigerate, at least four hours and up to two days.

Line a half-sheet rimmed baking tray, or 2-3 smaller trays, with parchment or a silicone mat.

Dust countertop or a silicone rolling mat with flour. Roll the first disc of gingerbread dough to approximately 1/4-inch thickness.

Cut stars (or other decorative shapes) in a variety of sizes. (I used four star cutters, ranging from a 1 1/4-inch star to a 2 1/2-inch star.) Concentrate on making more of the larger shapes, and less of the smaller ones.

With a small stepped palette knife or flat metal spatula, transfer cookies to prepared tray.

Re-roll scraps and cut remaining dough. (If the dough feels too sticky to roll, refrigerate for 10 minutes before re-rolling.)

Refrigerate tray for 30 minutes, or freeze for 15 minutes. (If your tray doesn’t fit in the refrigerator, you can stack the cut cookies between squares of parchment and chill the stacks.) Preheat oven to 350° F / 176° C.

Bake in preheated oven for 9-10 minutes (11-12 minutes for crispier cookies) or until very light brown around the edges. Keep an eye on the oven—the smaller cookies will bake more quickly than the larger ones; if this happens, remove the small cookies and allow the larger ones to finish baking.

Cool on tray for five minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Meanwhile, place second disc of gingerbread dough on a large sheet of parchment. Roll to about 1/4-inch thickness, or until the dough is about 10 inches in diameter.

With a sharp knife, trace around a dinner plate. Remove the trimmings. (If desired, you can cut a few more stars or other cookies out of the scraps.)

Use a 3 1/2-inch or 4-inch round cutter to cut a hole in the middle of the circle.

Carefully slide the parchment onto a half-sheet rimmed baking tray. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until brown around the edges. Do not underbake.

Cool completely on tray, then transfer to the countertop or other workspace.

Royal Icing:

In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, whip egg white to soft peaks.

Add confectioner’s sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, and mix on high speed until all sugar has been incorporated and meringue is thick and glossy, with stiff peaks. If necessary, add a bit more confectioner’s sugar to adjust the consistency. The royal icing should be thick but pipeable.

Divide the icing into two bowls. Add gel food coloring as desired. (You can also skip the food coloring and use white icing only.)

With a flexible rubber spatula, scoop each royal icing into a piping bag fitted with a small round tip. (I used 2-millimeter tips for each.)

Decoration:

Pipe stars with decorations. You can keep the designs very simple (outlines, polka dots, stripes) or pipe more intricate patterns. (For flooding, remove a small amount of royal icing and thin with water or lemon juice.)

Allow cookies to sit, uncovered, until royal icing sets, about 1-2 hours. Flooded cookies might take longer to set.

Assembly:

Use leftover royal icing to secure each star to the gingerbread wreath base, starting with the largest stars at the bottom, and layering smaller stars on top.

If desired, make and add a decorative gingerbread bow. (See post above for notes.)

Use dots of royal icing to secure edible pearls, edible silver balls, or other decorations. Dust with edible glitter or foil stars.

Use gingerbread wreath as a centerpiece or mantle decoration. Wreath will keep well at room temperature for several weeks.