In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and 2 cups of sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. You will likely need to scrape down the sides of the bowl and attachment at least once.
Add the eggs slowly and mix until they're incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the molasses and vanilla extract and mix on high until the mixture looks like a pale brown color. Scrape down sides of the bowl and mix on high briefly.
Into a separate bowl, add the flour, baking soda, ground ginger, ground cinnamon and salt. Whisk the ingredients together well.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just fully combined.
Use an ice cream scoop to portion your batter out. One at a time, dip each ball of dough into the 1/2 cup of granulated sugar. Use a spoon or your fingers to gently roll the dough in the sugar to coat all sides, and then place onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Make sure you leave room around each cookie to spread while baking. For my large cookies I left about 2 inches of space around each.
Slightly flatten the tops of your cookies by pressing gently on each cookie with the palm of your hand.
Bake in the preheated oven for 14-17 minutes or until the cookies are firm around the edges but still somewhat soft in the center.