Kettle Corn-Style Roasted Pumpkin Seeds Make the Perfect Party Treat
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Kettle corn-style roasted pumpkin seeds that’s both sweet and salty. (Photo: Donna Yen)
Last week, I showed you how to take your chicken leftovers up a firery notch and make them into chipotle chicken tostadas. This week for Halloween, I took the seeds from my jack o lantern and roasted them into a delicious sweet and salty treat — kettle corn-style pumpkin seeds! These seeds perfectly light and crunchy and made for an addicting snack.
For many of us, Halloween is an excuse to watch scary movies, carve pumpkins, make spooky treats, and for me, it’s all of the above! This year I went to my sister’s house for a pumpkin carving session. Growing up and carving pumpkins as a kid I would always beg my mom to roast the seeds while we were busy hacking away at our pumpkins and making a mess in the kitchen. In my mind I thought they’d turn out airy and crunchy like the ones you buy at the grocery store, but they always fell short of my exceptions. They either came out burnt to crisp, slimy and raw, or so dense that you’d bite into one thinking your teeth would crack. I’m older and wiser now so I baked my seeds this year with a lot of TLC.
Pumpkin carving at my sister’s house with Cleo The Bunny sniffing out the competition. (Photo: Donna Yen)
I started by opening up my pumpkin and collecting all the hidden seeds tucked away inside. To make it easier when harvesting them, I had a big bowl full of water to help rid of the slime and pumpkin strings that were still clinging on for dear life.
Rinsing them in a cold bowl of water helps take off the slime pumpkin strings attached. (Photo: Donna Yen)
After they’d been rinsed and strained in a colander, they were ready for the next important step — boiling them in salted water. Doing this helps create a crisper shell and airy crunch when they’re in the oven. After they boiled for 10 minutes, I strained them and patted them dry. Then they went into the hot oven with a little canola oil and salt.
Related: How to Roast Pumpkin Seeds
Scary raw pumpkin seeds that are prepped and ready to be roasted into a delicious snack. (Photo: Donna Yen)
The finished product was perfect crispy pumpkin seeds. Now it was all about the perfect flavoring, and hands down, kettle corn is the best snack on the planet. The seeds were already salted so they just had to be tossed in a hot butter sugar mixture. After they cooled, the seeds hardened and became an irresistible snack. Enjoy these seeds with your closest friends and family with your favorite horror film for a spooktacular Halloween night.
(Photo: Donna Yen)
Kettle Corn Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Makes 1 cup
1 cup of raw pumpkin seeds
½ teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of canola oil
1 tablespoon of butter
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 teaspoon of water
Harvest the seeds from the innards of your pumpkin and collect them in a bowl of cold water. Swirl the seeds in the bowl to help rid of any pumpkin string and then strain the seeds in a colander and let it sit.
Preheat your oven to 350°F.
Add salt to a pot of water (salty enough so it tastes like the ocean) and bring it to a boil. Boil the pumpkin seeds for 10 minutes. Strain the boiled seeds in the colander and pat them dry with a paper towel.
Toss the seeds in a tablespoon of canola oil and ½ teaspoon of salt. Then add your seeds to a baking sheet and spread them out evenly. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes and shake the pan halfway through baking. They should be a light golden brown when they’re ready. Take them out of the oven and allow them to cool.
Using a small sauce pan, melt your butter on medium heat along with the sugar and teaspoon of water. Stir the mixture for 2-3 minutes until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add your pumpkin seeds and coat them in the butter sugar mixture. Pour them into a bowl and serve!
For more inspiration for your Halloween party, check out our Halloween Pinterest board and get to pinning!
More pumpkin recipes to make this Halloween:
Nutella-Stuffed Pumpkin French Toast Is Your New Best Friend
How to Turn Your Pumpkin Into a Fall-Inspired Punch Bowl
