Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter (before prepping, leave out for 20 to 25 minutes to be at cool room temperature)
- ⅔ cup pumpkin puree room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup + 2 tbsp dark brown sugar packed
- 2 large egg yolks room temperature
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 to 1 ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon pumpkin spice
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon regular or kosher salt
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar for rolling
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon for rolling
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking trays with parchment paper and set them aside.
- Brown the butter in a large stainless-steel pan. This will take about 9 to 11 minutes. While it cooks it will foam and bubble. Stir it occasionally, to keep it from burning.
- When the butter has formed into small brown pieces, remove the pan from the heat. You should have just slightly under 1 cup of brown butter. Pour it into a bowl and set it aside to cool until it’s room temperature. Chill the butter in the fridge until it feels cold to the touch but is not solid, and still in liquid form.
- Spread the pumpkin puree on a plate. Press a stack of paper towels into it and soak up the extra liquid. Then scrape the pumpkin into a pile and re-spread it around the plate. Use a new stack of paper towels to keep absorbing the extra liquid, until the pumpkin feels dry like soft dough.
- When the butter is cool, gently add in the brown sugar and granulated sugar. It should look like wet sand. Gently add and mix the egg yolks, vanilla, and dried pumpkin puree.
- Fold in the flour with a spoon to make sure you don’t add too much flour, or it will be cakey. Add pumpkin spice, salt, cream of tartar, and baking soda until mixed. Set the bowl of dough in the fridge for about 5 minutes to firm up.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the cinnamon and the sugar. Scoop the dough into 3 tablespoon sized balls and roll each dough ball in the cinnamon sugar. Place it on the prepared baking sheet spaced 2to 3 inches apart.
- Bake the cookies 1 tray at a time for 9 to 11 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and the middle is puffy and slightly underbaked. Do not overbake or the cookies will be puffy and cakier. Allow cookies to cool fully before serving.
Note: You can serve these with whipped topping in the center as mini cookie sandwiches or your favorite ice cream and chill for 30 to 45 minutes.