How To Make Roasted Pumpkins Seeds

One of the best parts about carving a pumpkin for Halloween is roasting the seeds! If you have never made homemade roasted pumpkin seeds, then you are missing out on life. When I was growing up in Michigan, we always carved pumpkins. I think I have carved a pumpkin every year even through college, because what is halloween without carving a pumpkin?

Roasted pumpkin seeds are salty, buttery, crunchy, and pumpkiny (is that a word?). When you make them, make sure to get off most of the gooey pumpkin parts off, but do not rinse the seeds. You want that great pumpkin flavor on the pumpkins. Plus, if you rinse them they won't get as crispy.

There is no set-in-stone way of roasting pumpkin seeds. As long as you roast them with salt and butter until golden brown then you are good to go!

Tips for Perfect Roasted Pumpkin Seeds (and carving a pumpkin)

*Use a very sharp serratedknife to carve the pumpkin. Many people think they need a huge knife to carve a pumpkin, but you actually only need the serrated part. I have a super tiny knife that I use for carving, and it works so much better than a large one.

*Use a scoop to remove the seeds, separating them from the other inner parts of the pumpkin. Make sure to scoop all of the insides out. If you leave some of the gooey insides in the pumpkin, then your carved pumpkin can go bad much faster.

*Do NOT rinse the seeds! You want that great pumpkin flavor on the pumpkins. Plus, if you rinse them they won't get as crispy.

*I like to use cold butter for the roasted seeds, because it is easier to cut into small pieces, and spread evenly over the seeds.

*The amount of salt and butter that you need will depend on how many seeds come out of the pumpkin. Start with a little, and add more salt to taste, and butter to make sure all of the seeds become coated as it melts in the oven.

*Make sure that the seeds are evenly dispersed on the baking sheet. If they are crowded, then they will not get as crispy as you want them to be.

How To Make Roasted Pumpkins Seeds

Ingredients

Seeds from the freshly carved pumpkin ***Make sure NOT to rinse the seeds after removing them from the pumpkin or you'll lose all that great flavor!
Salt
Cold butter, cut into cubes, start with about 3 tablespoons, and add more if you have a lot of seeds
(Note: the amount of salt and butter depend on how many seeds you get from your pumpkin)

Instructions

*Preheat your oven to about 375 degrees
*Spread your *unwashed* pumpkin seeds on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil
*Drop the cut up cubes of cold butter over the seeds
*Sprinkle with salt
*Bake for about 5-10 minutes and remove from the oven to stir with a spatula
*Bake another 5-10 minutes and remove to stir again
*Do this until the seeds are golden and crunchy
*Add more salt if there isn't enough flavor and add more butter if the seeds are starting to stick to the foil

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