Happy Halloween ~ trick or treat pumpkin seeds

Trick or Treat , Happy Halloween! Well no trick just a Halloween treat for you. Many of us are getting ready for Halloween by carving pumpkins, that means that there will be plenty of extra pumpkin seeds. This year instead of just throwing out the seeds I will be roasting them. I will be trying out and showing you 2 varieties or flavors to add to the seeds. The first is just a standard salt added to the seeds. The second was an experiment of using sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom to spice the pumpkin seeds.

You will need:

pumpkin seeds, parchment paper, oil or melted butter (see note) , seasonings of your choice(optional) or salt

1. Preheat the oven at 225F / 121C , line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. After removing the seeds from the pumpkin rinse and clean off all the stringy bits of pumpkin.(note) If you are not using the parchment paper coat the cookie sheet with oil or melted butter. Using paper towels dry the seeds well or let them air dry.

2.Opting for a lower calorie version I did not use any oil nor butter. Instead I left the seeds a little bit damp so that the seasoning would stick to them. You can either season the seeds or leave them unseasoned. For one batch I put the seeds in a bowl added a little bit of sugar, cinnamon, a small pinch of nutmeg and cardamom, and tossed until the seeds were well coated. The second batch I tossed the seeds with a bit of salt.

3. Spread the seeds on the cookie sheet, try to have the seeds spread out evenly on one layer. Put in the preheated oven to toast. You can check on the seeds about 15 minutes into the toasting and with a wooden spoon move them around a bit. Roast for 30 minutes or until the seeds are brown and feel crispy.

*seasoned with salt**seasoned with spices*

Toasting pumpkin seeds is quite easy and fast and a great way to using up the seeds from your pumpkins. Trying this has convinced me not to throw out the seeds but instead enjoy them as a healthy snack. Both flavors were good, but adding the sugar and spices to the first batch made a nice sweet change on just regular pumpkin seeds. I think that you could really add any of your favorite spices to them, they are pretty versatile.