I lower my head in shame thinking of all the pumpkin seeds I’ve thrown away over the years — never once thinking that I could turn them in to something delicious.
Thanks to my friend Valerie over at 29 Days of Pumpkin I am now saving those seeds. I love her recipe Toasted Brown Sugar Pumpkin Seeds. When I made them the first time I ate the whole batch by myself.
Not a proud moment.
What I love most about this recipe is the addition of black pepper. The little charge of spice is a nice balance to the brown sugar’s sweetness.
Today I am working on cooking all my left over pumpkins, and have been collecting the seeds. I’m just about ready to make my last batch of Toasted Brown Sugar Pumpkin Seeds for the season.
I think I’ll have to package them up to share with family so I don’t eat them all…by myself…again.
Toasted Brown Sugar Pumpkin Seeds
2 cups raw pumpkin seeds, unwashed
1/2 cup or 1 stick butter/margarine
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsps vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice or
can replace with cinnamon
Line 13 x 9 baking dish with aluminum foil and lightly spray with no-stick cooking spray.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Set pan aside.
Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat and add brown sugar, vanilla, salt, pepper, and your choice of pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon. Stir for 1 minute, and remove from heat.
Add pumpkin seeds to mixture and stir until thoroughly coated. Spread out in thin layer in baking dish, and bake in oven at 325 degrees for 20-25 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Remove from oven and spread on wax paper to cool.
The Hip Vegetarian 