Sweet and Salty Pumpkin Seeds

I first had roasted pumpkin seeds in preschool. The teacher scooped the seeds right out of the pumpkin, cleaned them off and we roasted them. a) even at 4 years old, I knew I liked a salty snack b) that preschool teacher is a hero, scooping pumpkins and trying to cook anything with 15 preschoolers seems like an enormous and exhausting task.

This year I wanted to try a sweet spin on pumpkin seeds, ya know since that’s kinda my thing. Also, I couldn’t stop thinking about my sweet and salty snack mix. So I made some sweet and salty pumpkin seeds. Very fall of me. Butter, salt, brown sugar and cinnamon. That’s it.

Feel free to scoop out a pumpkin, but here’s a secret…you can buy raw pumpkin seeds at the grocery store. Then you can have these all year round. Shhh, keep that between us. People will think you slaved over a pumpkin.

I love how these turned out and I love the subtle sweetness. They actually smell and taste like that smell at the mall of those sweet almonds they sell. Warning- they are super duper addictive.

Follow me over @lolosdesserts on Instagram and Facebook to see the latest recipes. Also, be sure to snap a photo if you make any Lolo's stuff and tag #lolosdesserts. I love to see what you are creating!

Ingredients

1 and 1/2 cups pumpkin seeds

3 Tablespoons butter, melted

1 and 1/2 Tablespoons packed brown sugar

3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment or a Silpat. Set aside.

2. If you are using pumpkin seeds straight from a pumpkin, make sure they are rinsed and dried thoroughly. You can also use raw pumpkin seeds that you can buy at the store, makes things much easier.

3. In a medium size bowl, stir together melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add the pumpkin seeds and mix all together so they are thoroughly covered.

4. Spread seeds evenly on the sheet pan in a single layer. Bake for 10 minutes, then flip/stir seeds around. Then bake again for 5 minutes at a time until they are golden and crispy. (I baked mine for 20 min total). Careful because they can burn quickly.