Brown the butter.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, as the butter foams and begins to turn golden brown. Once it develops a deep golden color and a nutty aroma, remove it from the heat. Watch it closely, as browned butter can quickly go from perfect to burnt. Pour the browned butter into a bowl and allow it to cool completely.

Prepare the oven.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Blot the pumpkin.

Measure ⅓ cup of pumpkin purée and place it on a paper plate. Use paper towels to gently blot the pumpkin, removing as much excess moisture as possible. Continue blotting until the paper towel no longer becomes wet. The pumpkin should measure approximately 3 tablespoons (50 g) after blotting.

Mix the wet ingredients.

Place the cooled browned butter and both sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix until combined. Add the blotted pumpkin, egg yolk, and vanilla. Mix again until smooth.

Add the dry ingredients.

Add the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. Mix on low speed just until the ingredients are combined. Be careful not to overmix. It's okay if a few small streaks of flour remain in the bowl.

Form the cookies.

Scoop the dough into large balls. A 3-tablespoon cookie scoop works well for this. In a small bowl, combine the granulated sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon for rolling. Roll each cookie dough ball in the sugar mixture and place 4–5 cookies on each prepared baking sheet.

Bake.

Bake for 9–11 minutes. The centers should no longer look shiny or wet, but be careful not to overbake the cookies.

Cool.

Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet before transferring them to a cooling rack. This helps the cookies set and hold their shape. If desired, sprinkle the cooled cookies with a little extra sugar.

A Note About the Dough

Blotting the pumpkin is an important step. Removing the excess moisture helps give these cookies a chewier texture rather than making them too cakey.

Because the amount of moisture in pumpkin purée and the results of browning butter can vary, your dough may look slightly different each time. If the dough seems too crumbly to scoop, add 1–2 tablespoons of additional pumpkin purée, a little at a time, until the dough reaches a smooth, scoopable consistency.