Start by letting the butter come to room temperature for about an hour – it should be soft enough that your finger leaves a slight indent when you press it, but not so soft it’s melting.

Preheat your oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Trust me, parchment makes a huge difference with these sticky cookies.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. This helps distribute the spices and leaveners evenly – no one wants a bite of straight baking soda!

In a large bowl, cream together the softened butter and sugar until it’s light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. You’ll see the color change to a pale yellow and the texture will become almost whipped-looking.

Beat in the pumpkin puree, egg, and vanilla. Don’t worry if the mixture looks a bit curdled or separated – that’s totally normal with pumpkin batter and will smooth out when you add the dry ingredients.

Gradually stir the dry ingredients into the wet mixture, mixing just until no dry flour patches remain. The dough will be pretty soft and sticky – more like a thick cake batter than typical cookie dough.

Fold in the chocolate chips until they’re evenly distributed. I like to save a handful to press into the tops of the cookies before baking – it makes them look extra tempting.

Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto your prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie. They’ll spread a bit as they bake.

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for about 5 minutes (they’re quite delicate when hot), then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.