Whisk all the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, allspice, and salt) in a bowl together until blended.
In your mixer or with a hand mixer, cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar together until aerated and light in color. Then add the wet ingredients (sweet potato, eggs, and vanilla) to the butter and sugar mixture, and mix slowly to combine.
Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, and then finally fold in the chocolate chips. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, or up to overnight.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350℉ and line your cookie sheets with parchment paper (or grease lightly).
Scoop out the cookies and roll them into balls with your hands, so they are about 1 ½" across. Place them on the cookie sheet about 3" apart. If the cookies seem to be too soft or are sticking to your hands, put the dough back in the fridge for another 15-20 minutes and then continue.
Roll the cookie balls in the sugar or nuts of your choice, coating them all the way around. If you can, I also recommend putting the entire tray in the fridge after they are rolled for 15 minutes before baking. This will prevent them from spreading too much.
Bake for 15-18 minutes. Check them frequently after the 15-minute mark to ensure the bottoms are not burning. You will see they are darker around the edges and have puffed up nicely when they're ready.
Carefully transfer them to a cooling rack. If they're too soft and fragile to move immediately out of the oven, you can let them rest on the pan for another 2-3 minutes before moving them.