Roasted Pumpkin Seeds, Part 2

As always, Halloween speaks to me in craftiness, crunchy snacks, and way too many tiny candy bars.  To offset at least a few candy bars, I always have a big bowl of crunchy roasted pumpkin seeds handy.

This year I tried a few different crafty things with pumpkins, including painting, decoupage, and of course a little carving.  If you don’t carve you don’t get seeds!  See, this is one area where efforts are always rewarded.

Getting jiggy with the pumpkins.

I like to experiment with different seasonings for my seeds.  This year I opted for Indian spices.  I just found a blend of tandori seasonings that I really wanted to try out and it worked great on this!  But you can really use whatever seasoning blend or combination of seasonings you like best.  Even a simple coating of sea salt is perfect.  Get fancy with it or keep it as basic as you like.

Crunchy, pumpkiny goodness!

Indian Spiced Pumpkin Seeds

Seeds from at least one pumpkin
Drizzle of olive oil
1 tsp. tandori spice mix
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. dried coriander

Wash your seeds and drain on paper towels.  For crispier seeds, you can let these dry overnight on a sheet of wax paper (don’t dry on paper towels, they tend to stick to it as they dry).  If you don’t mind them a tiny bit chewy, you can skip this step, or cook them a bit longer until they are as crispy as you like.

Toss seeds with a bit of olive oil and seasonings.  Spread out on a lined baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray.  Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes until lightly brown and crispy.

To see how I did them last year, click here for Roasted Pumpkin Seeds, part 1!

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Roasted Pumpkin Seeds!

As Halloween approaches my little household usually indulges in some fall craftiness.  Some pumpkin painting…

And some pumpkin carving…

Boo!

Which leads me to the really fun part of pumpkin carving.  No I don’t mean plunging your hands into the oooey gooey pumpkin guts.  I mean cooking and eating the yummy pumpkin seeds!    You can season these with just about whatever strikes your fancy.  I prefer something with a little kick.  Some time ago I came across a seasoning salt called “Jamaica Me Crazy!”  This spicy mix was the perfect combo for my seeds this year.  If you don’t happen to have that, any seasoning blend would work fine, or make your own.  I often combine salt, pepper, chili powder and garlic powder.  Or lemon pepper, dill and salt.  Or curry, salt and sugar.  You get the idea.  Let your taste buds guide you.

Yummy, toasty goodness.

Remove the seeds from the pumpkin and rinse them in a colander to remove most of the pumpkin gunk.

Contemplating their toasty fate.

Pat dry with paper towels and spread on a lined cookie sheet.  Toss with seasonings.

Ready to pop in the oven.

Bake at 400˚ for about 20 minutes, stirring once somewhere in the middle, until seeds are crunchy and starting to brown.  Munch on them while they are hot, warm or cold.  Keep leftovers in a sealed container or ziplock bag to maintain freshness.