Salty & Sweet Pumpkin Seeds
November 11, 2020
We love the holidays so much that we have to soak up every opportunity to celebrate. Even when the holidays are over, we just can’t help prolonging the joy as much as can reasonably be managed. Why wouldn’t we take advantage of the leftovers from Halloween? Amongst all of our countless Halloween traditions, we carve pumpkins every year. As a part of our annual trip to the nearby pumpkin patch to pick up decorative additions to our home, we also leave with the biggest carving pumpkins we can find. On Halloween day like clockwork, we sit down to carve. A few years ago in the midst of hauling around our regrettably giant pumpkins, debating about technique, and commenting about how well done everyone else face has turned out I looked over and noticed the result of our efforts. The familiar pile of scraped out pumpkin fibers mixed with seeds that are about to be disposed of. Although we have been discarding this for as long as I can remember, in that moment, not only did it seem wasteful to throw out a usable and delicious product but a chance for a new tradition appeared.
Once cleaned, the seeds need to be dried thoroughly. To accomplish this, we take the damp seeds and spread them out on a paper towel either directly on the counter or on a sheet pan depending on how many seeds you end up with. If the paper towel is soaked through by the initial pat dry, move the seeds to another set of paper towels. You don’t want them to sit on a soaked surface. We then let the seeds dry at least overnight. Once they are fully dry, peel them off of the paper towel and measure into a bowl. It’s important at this point to measure your seeds so you know how you will to season them. It is also worth noting that at this point, if you don’t carve pumpkins or would not like to go through this trouble, you can purchase raw, unroasted pumpkin seeds and use them in the recipe. No matter what seeds you decide to use, we are ready for the next step, flavor.
Pumpkin seeds are incredibly versatile. You can use any flavoring you would like. Since we carve multiple pumpkins every year we typically end up with a mound of pumpkin seeds. We like to do multiple flavors, usually one sweet and one savory to satisfy any craving or need. This year we did simply salt and pepper and cinnamon sugar. The recipes below are each for two cups of pumpkin seeds but it can be easily doubled or halved based on how many seeds you end up with. Also it’s important to remember that this recipe is incredibly forgiving. The oil is interchangeable, spices can be added or omitted, and the butter can be replaced with a vegan alternative if needed. Just let taste be your guide, your imagination the limit, and the Halloween tradition to be your drive. Flavor them up, bake, and do your best to resist burning your fingers while they cool.
Salt and Pepper Pumpkin seeds
Ingredients:
2 cups of raw pumpkin seeds (either purchased or prepared from your own pumpkins)
1 and ½ tsp salt
1 and ½ tsp pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Toss pumpkin seeds with salt, pepper, and oil. Spread out on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 325 degrees until lightly browned stirring every 10 minutes. This may take up to 30 minutes depending on your oven. They will crisp up when you leave them to cool. Cool completely and store in an air tight container.
Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Seeds
Ingredients:
2 cups of raw pumpkin seeds (either purchased or prepared from your own pumpkins)
4 tablespoons brown sugar packed
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 tablespoon unsalted butter melted
Salt to taste
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Toss pumpkin seeds with brown sugar, cinnamon, butter, and salt. Spread out on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 325 degrees until lightly browned stirring every 10 minutes. Watch these carefully as the sugar has a tendency to burn. They may take up to 30 minutes depending on your oven. They will crisp up when you leave them to cool. Cool completely and store in an air tight container.
