Sweet and Spicy Pumpkin Seeds

Yeah, Halloween is done and over. I am aware. But - still wanted to share this little gem with my readers. Best way to prepare those delicious little pumpkin seeds, in my opinion. They are slightly spicy, definitely sweet, and chockful of flavor. Awesome!

I doubled the batch, these two guys yielded more than enough seeds for that :) Hope everyone had a fantastic Halloween!

Sweet and Spicy Pumpkin Seeds

(compliments of Martha)

Ingredients:

1 medium pumpkin
5 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp.salt
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
Pinch of cayenne pepper, to taste
1 1/2 Tbsp. peanut oil

Preheat oven to 250 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut pumpkin open from the bottom, removing seeds with a long-handled spoon. Separate flesh from seeds, and reserve the flesh for another use (that over-achiever Martha would like for you to save it to make pie filling). Pumpkin should yield 1 cup seeds. Spread seeds on parchment in an even layer. Bake until dry, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour. Let cool.

In a medium bowl combine 3 tablespoons sugar, salt, cumin, cinnamon, ginger, and cayenne. Heat peanut oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add pumpkin seeds and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Cook until sugar melts and pumpkin seeds begin to caramelize, about 45 to 60 seconds. Transfer to bowl with spices, and stir well to coat. Let cool. These may be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week.