Place the sugar & butter in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until combined. Add the egg, molasses, vinegar, and vanilla extract and beat on medium-low speed until fully combined.

In a separate mixing bowl, mix the dry ingredients and the gingerbread spices until well combined.

Add the dry ingredients to the molasses mix. Mix on low speed just until combined into a soft cookie dough.

Cover the bowl and chill the cookie dough for at least 3 hours and up to overnight. If you chill it overnight, you may need to let it stand at room temperature for 15 minutes so it's easier to roll.

Once ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F.

Divide the dough in half and roll each half to ¼ of an inch thickness on a lightly floured surface.

Cut out cookies and place them on lined baking sheets about 1 inch apart. Place similarly sized cookies on the same baking sheet!

Once you have filled a baking sheet, place it in the oven to bake. Medium-sized cookies take 8-10 minutes to bake. Large gingerbread men take 12-14 minutes to bake. Smaller cookies take 6-8 minutes to bake. They should spring back when you slightly touch their surface, but make sure to not overbake them or they'll turn out tough.

Cool the baked cookies on a baking sheet for a couple of minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely before decorating.