Preheat oven to 325°F. Line cookie pans with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder, cloves, salt, ginger, allspice, nugmeg, and black pepper; set aside. In a separate large bowl, combine brown sugar and eggs; mix well.
Add dry ingredients bit by bit to the egg mixture, forming a soft dough.
For the traditional cookies, roll dough into logs about the thickness of a pencil; cut crosswise into 1/4 inch pieces (about the size of a peanut).
Sprinkle dough pieces onto prepared cookie pans; separate any bits that are stuck together. Or if you'd rather have more uniform-looking cookies, form them into balls (about an inch and a half in diameter) and place them on the baking sheet with about 2 inches of space around each cookie (they might require a minute or two more baking this way).
Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely.
Cookies will become crunchy as they cool; break apart any that have baked together by hand. Store in airtight containers.
