Iced Pumpkin Cookies

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Place the butter (sliced into pieces) in a skillet over medium heat. Heat for about 5 minutes until it melts, turns foamy, and then becomes golden brown in color and smells nutty. Immediately remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl. Transfer to the freezer for 15 minutes to cool (you can also do this in advance and cool it to room temperature).

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, and salt.

Add the cooled browned butter to the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the sugar and mix on High speed for 1 minute, until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolk, molasses and vanilla extract, and beat on High speed for 1 minute. Add the pumpkin puree and mix just until incorporated, scraping once. Pour in the bowl of dry ingredients and mix on Low speed until just combined.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place ¼ cup granulated sugar on a plate. Roll the dough in 1 ½ tablespoon balls, using a cookie scoop if possible, then roll the ball into the plate of sugar. Repeat for a tray of 12 cookies. Add a single tray to the oven and bake 12 to 13 minutes, until puffed. Chill the remaining dough while baking (recommended but not required; without it the second batch comes out with slightly more crinkles**). Allow to cool on the pan 5 minutes before removing to a baking rack.

Repeat for the second batch of cookies (baking the trays separately yields more even results).

Allow the cookies to cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. For the glaze, mix the powdered sugar, milk and melted butter in a small bowl until a thick icing forms (add slightly more sugar if it’s too runny or a hint more milk if too thick). Use a fork to drizzle the icing over the cookies. Wait for about 20 minutes for the icing to dry before serving.

Store at room temperature for about 1 week, refrigerated for 2 weeks (bring to room temperature before serving), or frozen for 3 months (un-iced cookies freeze best).