1. Deal With Your Pumpkin Take that pumpkin purée and either blot it with paper towels until you’ve soaked up a bunch of liquid, or dump it in a pan and simmer it while stirring until it’s thicker. You want about ¾ cup when you’re done. I know it’s annoying, but do it anyway.

2. Beat the Butter and Sugar Cream your vegan butter with both sugars for about 4 minutes. It should look fluffy and lighter in color. This is important – don’t skip this step or rush it.

3. Add Your Pumpkin Mix in that reduced pumpkin you just made. Add vanilla too if you’re using it. The mixture might look weird, but that’s normal.

4. Add the Flour Stuff In another bowl, whisk together flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Dump this into your pumpkin mixture and stir just until you don’t see dry flour anymore. Stop stirring.

5. Let It Chill (Maybe) If your dough is super sticky, let it sit for 30 minutes. Don’t add more flour – just be patient.

6. Shape Them Heat your oven to 350°F. Scoop about 3 tablespoons of dough, roll it into a ball, then roll it in sugar. The sugar coating is what makes them crack prettily.

7. Bake Put them on parchment paper with space between each cookie. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the edges look set but the middles still look a little underdone.

8. Cool Down Let them sit on the pan for 5 minutes before you move them. They’ll flatten out and crack as they cool, which is exactly what we want.