Crunchy Salty Sweet

Living in Salem, MA, the home of all things Halloween, requires me to go all out for the holiday. I’m definitely not complaining, and I celebrated Halloween pretty nicely this year! Let’s just say 7 bags of candy is already gone, and we didn’t have trick-or-treaters 😛

So, after all the decorating and celebrating was done, I was left with 5 pumpkins that needed to be re-purposed. Pumpkin seeds are one of my very favorite things to make during the fall, and when I stumbled on this recipe at Skinnytaste, I knew it was a variation I had to try.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

Prep your pumpkin seeds by draining and rinsing them in a colander. Choose one with small holes (not slats) so the seeds don’t fall through!

Spread the seeds on paper towels, and cover with another sheet of paper towel, and let dry for about 10 minutes.

Once dry, spread the seeds in a single layer on your baking sheet.

Place into the oven and bake for 10 minutes, tossing them about halfway. This first “pre-bake” will ensure the spice mix and butter/oil stick to the seeds. It also allows the seeds to get really crispy.

While the seeds are baking, mix the spice mix. I doubled the cayenne to make these super spicy, but stick to the amount written for a nice subtle heat.

Melt the butter with olive oil (or choose one or the other, totaling about 1 1/2 tablespoons).

Once the pre-baking of the seeds is complete, remove them from the oven, and pour into a bowl.

Sprinkle the spice mixture and butter/oil combo over the seeds.

Mix to cover the seeds.

Spread evenly onto the baking sheet.

Bake the seeds again for 25-30 minutes, tossing around the halfway mark.

Remove from the oven and eat immediately.

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Adapted from: Skinnytaste

Makes: 1 1/2 cups seeds

Prep: 15 minutes (including cleaning the seeds), Cook: 35 minutes, Total: 50 minutes

• 1 ½ cups raw pumpkin seeds
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon light brown sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground mustard

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

Prep your pumpkin seeds by draining and rinsing them in a colander.

Spread the seeds on paper towels, and cover with another sheet of paper towel, and let dry for about 10 minutes.

Once dry, spread the seeds in a single layer on your baking sheet.

Place into the oven and bake for 10 minutes, tossing them about halfway.

While the seeds are baking, mix the spice mix. Use 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne to make these extra spicy.

Melt the butter with olive oil (or choose one or the other, totaling about 1 1/2 tablespoons).

Once the pre-baking of the seeds is complete, remove them from the oven, and pour into a bowl.

Sprinkle the spice mixture and butter/oil combo over the seeds.

Mix and spread evenly onto the baking sheet.

Bake the seeds again for 25-30 minutes, tossing around the halfway mark.

Remove from oven and eat immediately.