Beat together the butter with 1 cup of sugar in a mixing bowl until the mixture is smooth, and stir in beaten egg and molasses. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt; stir the flour mixture into the molasses mixture by half cupfuls. Stir in the white chocolate chips. Refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Scoop up a generous spoonful of dough, and roll it into a ball. Roll the ball in sugar, place onto an ungreased baking sheet, and flatten slightly. Sprinkle a little sugar onto the cookie, if desired. Repeat for the rest of the cookies.
Bake the cookies in the preheated oven until lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for about 1 minute before removing to finish cooling on racks.
