Combine the flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Beat the butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the molasses and egg and mix until combined. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Divide the dough in 2 and wrap in plastic wrap.

Refrigerate for 1 hour, until firm.

Roll the dough out on a floured surface until it is 1/8-inch thick. Using the image below as a guide, make paper templates of each wall and cut out 2 house “fronts”, two “walls” and two “roofs” for each house. Transfer the cookies to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake the cookies at 350F for about 10 minutes, until the edges begin to darken. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and cool completely.

Place the confectioner’s sugar, meringue powder and water into a bowl and beat with an electric mixer for about 10-12 minutes. Place the mixture in a piping bag fitted with a round tip.

Build the Houses:

Decorate the cookies as you like. To make sprinkle or sugar-covered roofs, pipe your desired design onto the roof and quickly sprinkle sugar on top. Tap the cookie on its edge to remove excess sugar and let dry. If you’d like the entire roof to be coated in sprinkles, pipe an outline around the edges of the cookie. Add a few drops of water to some of the icing, then fill the cookie in. Sprinkle the sugar/sprinkles on top and let the icing dry. Then tap the cookie on its edge to remove any excess sprinkles.

Use the thicker icing (not for filling the roof in) to attach the walls and roof. Set the houses aside and let the icing fully harden. (Note: if your mugs have a more narrow opening, glue the walls so that the edges of the shortest walls are on the outside – the opposite of what is pictured.)

Stick the houses onto the rim of mugs to serve.