Every year, I look forward to the Fall season. Nearly everything about it is the best (no hating!). I love the clothes, the foods, the weather, the colors, and the aromas. Apples are crisp, and the corn fields are tall.
It’s also the one time of year that my sinuses go to war, leaving the slimy wreckage of their battlefield everywhere I go. The jerks. All I can say is thank goodness for soft facial tissue. (I’m a Puff’s Plus Lotion kind of guy.) I easily go through 20 boxes during September and October.
But allergies have never stopped me from looking forward to time in the kitchen making pumpkin seeds. This particular recipe came about one night when my allergies were keeping me awake. You know how it is: you’re half awake, half asleep and your brain is doing weird things. I scribbled some ideas down on a paper and looked at them in the morning. I do that sometimes.
Anyway, enjoy the recipe and let me know what you think in the comments below.
Note: This recipe used to be part of a larger, all-inclusive pumpkin seeds post, but it made it hard to share the individual recipe, so yep. Here it is all on its own.
Sugar ‘n Spice Pumpkin Seeds
Ingredients
For Boiling
The Sauce
Method
I don’t have any process pictures this time around. If you’d like to see the seed washing and drying process, check out my first pumpkin seed post: How to Make Pumpkin Seeds: Classic Flavor.
Basically, before you make this you’ll want to be sure the seeds you’re using are free of pumpkin guts and grime. That’s not too hard to do if you place the seeds in a bowl with water and work through them with your fingers.
Once your seeds are ready, dissolve the salt in boiling water and add the pumpkin seeds. Boil these for at least 10 minutes. On occasion, I’ve walked away, forgotten about them and boiled for 20 or so. They still turn out fine.
Drain the seeds and lay them as thinly as possible on a non-fuzzy kitchen towel. The last thing you want on your seeds is lint. Along those lines, don’t use a paper towel because they’ll stick to the seeds as they dry. Then you’ll spend another 30 minutes picking out paper. Not cool.
Let the seeds dry for a couple hours while you do other things. Towards the end of drying time, turn the oven to 250°F and mix all the ingredients of the sauce together in a medium-ish bowl. Add the seeds and make sure it’s all mixed well.
Spread the seeds on a non-greased baking pan and place in an oven. Stir them around every 20 minutes or so for even cooking and to prevent burning. Depending on how dry they were before baking, they could be done in as short of an hour or up to two.
You’ll know when they’re done because you’ll hear a knock on the oven door and the words, “let me out!”
Lame joke? Yeah, I figured. For real though, the seeds are done when they’re toasty brown, lighter in weight, and crunchy on the outside. The middle will still be slightly chewy. The sugar may prevent the seed from being crunchy until it cools.
Pin It!
Share your love for sweet and savory treats, Fall, and pumpkins!
Save This Recipe
Recipe – Sugar ‘n Spice Pumpkin Seeds – The Cooking Dish (PDF)
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 4 people | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | Passive Time |
| 2 hours | 2 hours |
|
|
|
|
This recipe is a sweet twist on a classic fall flavor inspired by a bit of caramel drizzled over pumpkin pie. It's also the brainchild of a sleepless night.
|
- 2 cups water
- 1 tbsp salt
- 2 cups pumpkin seeds washed and cleaned
- 4 tbsp butter melted
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp ground allspice
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- Dissolve salt in boiling water. Add the seeds and boil for 10 minutes. Drain and place on a non-fuzzy kitchen towel to dry for 2 hours.
- Towards the end of the drying period, turn the oven on to 250°F, and then mix all the sauce ingredients together in a medium bowl. Add the seeds and mix again until all seeds are covered.
- Place seeds on an ungreased cookie sheet and spread evenly. Place in oven for ~2 hours. Flip seeds about every 20 minutes to prevent from burning and to cook evenly. Depending on how dry the seeds were, start checking at the hour mark. Seeds will be done when they’re toasty brown, lighter in weight, have a crunchy exterior, and a middle chewy interior. In this specific case, the sugar may prevent the outside from being crunchy until it’s cool to the touch.
Baking time greatly depends on how long you let the pumpkin seeds dry. If the seeds are completely dry before you bake them, you may only need to bake them for 20 minutes. Although this recipe takes a long time from start to finish, most of the time you're not doing anything but checking on the seeds.
DONT USE ALL THE SAUCE! I only used about 2/3 of it and it was great. Too much and its gross, trust me.