Place the vegan butter and 1 cup of the sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer and wait for the butter to come to room temperature, about 15 minutes.
In a separate large bowl, sift the flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda and salt together.
Fit the stand mixer with the paddle attachment and mix vegan butter and sugar on high speed until the mixture is creamy, about 3 minutes.
Lower speed to medium and slowly pour in the molasses.
Reduce speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture a little bit at a time, then the crystallized ginger. (The dough will become very dense and sticky, and will stick to the paddle in one piece).
Transfer the dough to a bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to two hours.
Place the oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. (If your oven has a "convection" setting, turn that on).
Remove dough from refrigerator.
Place the remaining ½ cup of sugar in a small bowl.
Using the medium spring-loaded scoop, scoop one cookie at a time directly into the sugar, roll in the sugar until lightly coated.
Place dough balls on ungreased cookie sheets about 1 ½ inches apart (you'll be able to fit about 18 cookies per sheet).
Place the cookie sheets in the oven and bake for 12 minutes, or until the edges are crisp and the cookie cracks slightly on the top (they will stay soft in the middle).
Cool cookies on the cookie sheets for 3-5 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Use within 5 days stored in an airtight container or freeze for up to 3 months.
