• Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C), no fan. Place the rack in the middle. Line bakings sheets with parchment paper.

Dry ingredients

• Whisk the flour, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
  1¾ cup all-purpose flour, 1½ tsp pumpkin pie spice, ½ tsp ground cinnamon, ½ tsp baking soda, ¼ tsp baking powder, ½ tsp fine salt

Wet ingredients

• Spread pumpkin puree over a plate. Press paper towels on top several times until the puree is thicker and less glossy. You should have about roughly ¼ cup (60 g), left after blotting.
  ⅓ cup pumpkin puree
• Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar for 2–3 minutes on medium-high speed, until lighter and fluffy. This adds enough air for the cookies to puff slightly in the oven, then settle into those rippled tops. Don’t overbeat until very pale and airy, or the cookies can become too puffy and spread less.
  ¾ cup unsalted butter, ¾ cup packed light brown sugar, ½ cup granulated sugar
• Beat in the egg yolk, blotted pumpkin, and vanilla and mix until combined, scraping down the bowl as needed.
  1 large egg yolk, 2 tsp vanilla extract
• Add the dry ingredients and fold them in with a spatula just until no dry flour remains. The dough should be soft and scoopable. Don’t overmix.

Shape and coat

• Mix the granulated sugar and pumpkin pie spice for rolling.
  ½ tsp pumpkin pie spice, ¼ cup granulated sugar
• Scoop about 3 tablespoons (48–50 g) of dough per cookie and gently roll in the spiced sugar. Keep the natural scoop shape. Don’t flatten the dough or shape it taller.

Bake

• Arrange the cookies well apart on the prepared baking sheet and bake for about 10–12 minutes, until the edges look set but the centers are still soft and slightly underdone.
• As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, place a round glass or cookie cutter around each one and gently swirl it in a circular motion. This rounds the edges, gathers the cookie slightly inward, and helps create a thicker cookie with more defined ripples.
• Leave the cookies on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes so the centers can finish setting, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!