It's the Great Pumpkin Seeds!

It’s coming! Halloween is coming and it’s getting to be time to grab some pumpkins to give them the Jack O’ Lantern treatment!

While pumpkin carving is one of my absolute favorite things about Halloween, I have to admit I get a bit overexcited about all of those wonderful seeds. There are so many perfect seeds just waiting for me to release them from their gooey home and either roast to perfection or save to make my own pumpkin patch next year. So far, I have not gotten much of a pumpkin patch going but that does not mean I will give up!

If you find yourself in the mood for savory Halloween fun, I highly recommend giving your seeds a clean and a roast! For me, simple is best when it comes to what I toss my seeds in. There are a million recipes that can make the seeds sweet, savory and spicy but for me, a little butter, salt and Worcestershire sauce is all my seeds need to be crunch ready. And if this isn’t reason enough to want to roast them up, pumpkin seeds boast some great vitamins and minerals that you probably won’t find lurking in your favorite bag of chips!

So get some of your favorite Halloween movies, roast up some seeds and much and enjoy this time of year!

It’s the Great Pumpkin Seeds!

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes plus dry time | Makes: 1-3 cups seeds

Ingredients

• Pumpkin seeds from one pumpkin
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (more or less to taste)
• 1 teaspoon salt (more or less to taste)

Directions

1. Clean the pumpkin seeds thoroughly, getting rid of as much goo as you can and dunk seeds in a bowl of wate
2. Remove from water and pat them dry
3. Spread seeds on towel or cloth lined flat surface and allow to dry at least 24 hours (you can place a cloth over them as well to help them dry a bit faster)
4. Once the seeds are dried preheat the oven to 250 degrees
5. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, stirring and making sure all seeds are coated in mixture
6. Add any additional seasonings
7. Place on a greased and foil lined cookie sheet and bake for 50-55 minutes, checking on the seeds from time to time
8. The seeds will be done when they are gently brown and appear mostly dry
9. Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes, then pass the seeds and enjoy!

Tips

• Roasting seeds is pretty easy, but it is very important to keep a good eye on the seeds when in the oven. Seeds that are roasted too long tend to be quite dry and stick to your mouth when you are chewing them, which is not the best texture to chew on!
• When spreading the seeds out, do your absolute best to make sure the seeds are lying flat on the baking sheet and do not overlap at all. If you have some seeds covering others, the ones on top will get that nice crunch but the bottom ones will still be soggy. Roasting them longer to allow the soggy ones to roast can result in some overcooking and being dry, so separating the seeds before roasting is key to a perfectly roasted seed!