Combine all flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and salt in bowl. Set aside.
In bowl of stand mixture with paddle attached, beat butter on medium to high speed until smooth, 1-2 minutes. Add sugar and beat until light in color and very fluffy, 4-5 minutes. Scrape sides and add molasses, eggs and vanilla. Beat on low speed until well combined.
With the mixer running on low speed, spoon in the dry ingredients until fully incorporated.
Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight. You can also freeze the dough and cook later.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare two baking sheets with a Silpat or parchment paper.
Roll walnut sized balls of dough and dip tops in the sparkly sugar. Keep remaining dough in refrigerator until ready to use. Bake in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes. They will be very soft. Remove from oven and allow to remain on baking sheet another 5 minutes. Then transfer to a cooling rack. Once fully cool, store in airtight container.