Kickin' Honey Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

 

With a wide variety of nutrients ranging from magnesium and manganese to copper, protein and zinc, pumpkin seeds are "nutritional powerhouses wrapped up in a very small package." They also contain plant compounds known as phytosterols and free-radical scavenging antioxidants,which can give your health an added boost. Check out this article to read more about the nutritional benefits of pumpkin seeds.

In my last post on making your own pumpkin puree, I said to save the seeds to turn into a crunchy snack. Pumpkin seeds are a great, healthy snack option and and taste a lot like popcorn, so of course we love them in this house. We have made both sweet and spicy batches of seeds in the past, but I wanted something that would hit all my tastes buds this time. Just like my favorite Cajun trail mix, I wanted these seeds to be salty, sweet, and spicy. They were a huge hit, and disappeared in no time at all. 

Kickin' Honey Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup, washed and dried pumpkin seeds 
• 1 1/2 tablespoons raw honey
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper 

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheet with Silpat nonstick baking liner, or parchment paper.
2. Rinse and clean fresh, raw pumpkin seeds after removing from pumpkin. Allow to dry thoroughly on a paper towel.
3. In medium microwave-safe bowl, combine coconut oil, butter, and honey. 
4. Microwave 30-60 seconds, or until butter is melted. 
5. Stir in pumpkin seeds and coat evenly.
6. Add cinnamon, sea salt, and cayenne pepper and stir until well combined.
7. Spread pumpkin seeds in the middle of the lined baking sheet and place into the oven. 
8. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the seeds are a deep golden color, stirring every 10 minutes. 
9. When the seeds are done, remove from the oven and stir once or twice as they cool to prevent them from sticking into one big clump.
10. Eat when cooled, or store in airtight container.

 

 Rinse and clean fresh, raw pumpkin seeds after removing from pumpkin. Allow to dry thoroughly on a paper towel.

 

 In medium microwave-safe bowl, combine coconut oil, butter, and honey.

 

 Microwave 30-60 seconds, or until butter is melted.

 

Stir in pumpkin seeds and coat evenly.

 

Add cinnamon...

 

...sea salt...

 

... and cayenne pepper.

 

Stir until well combined. 

 

 Spread pumpkin seeds in the middle of the lined baking sheet and place into the oven.

 

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the seeds are a deep golden color, stirring every 10 minutes.

These did end up just sliiiightly too dark, but they still tasted great.

Pumpkin seeds, especially when coated with honey, tend to burn quickly and easily. Keep a close eye on them. Stir often and if they appear to be getting too brown too fast, turn down the oven temperature a bit.  

 

 When the seeds are done, remove from the oven and stir once or twice as they cool to prevent them from sticking into one big clump. 

Enjoy once they are cool enough to eat, or store in an airtight container. 

DIY Pumpkin Puree

We harvested lots of pumpkins from our garden this year, so I am pretty sure I will be making lots of pumpkin puree! When baking and making puree, you want to use pie pumpkins, or sugar pumpkins, instead of carving pumpkins. Baking pumpkins are smaller, more flavorful, and contain less water. 

DIY Pumpkin Puree

Ingredients:

• 1 pie pumpkin
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups water

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Wash any dirt off the pumpkin. 
3. Remove stem or cut top off of pumpkin.
4. Cut the pumpkin in half.
5. Scoop out the seeds.
6. Place the pumpkin halves cut side down in a roasting pan.
7. Pour the water in the roasting pan.
8. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minute or until the skin darkens and it can easily be pierced by a fork.
9. Remove from oven and let cool.
10. Remove the skin.
11. Using a stick blender, puree the pumpkin until smooth. If using a blender or food processor, blend half of the pumpkin at a time.
12. Line a colander with coffee filters or paper towels and place over a deep bowl. 
13. Place the pumpkin in the colander and let the excess water drain into bowl over the course of 30 minutes to 1 hour, stirring occasionally. You may also place the pumpkin in cheesecloth and squeeze out the excess liquid.
14. Use the pumpkin puree in a recipe, or freeze it for future use.

 

Grab your pumpkin and preheat the oven to 375 degrees. 

 

Wash any dirt off of the pumpkin. 

 

Remove the stem, or cut the top off the pumpkin.

I used a folded up paper towel to hold and pop the stem off, because, as you can see, the stem has all these prickly little spines all along it. 

 

Cut the pumpkin in half. I tried several knives, and found the paring knife easiest to do the job.  

 

I cut the pumpkin vertically, however afterward I read that it may be easier to cut the pumpkin in half horizontally instead.

 

Scrape out the seeds and stringy guts. 

 

If you happen to have a grapefruit spoon, they work great for this type of job.

Don't throw the seeds away! Save them to make roasted pumpkin seeds! Later this week, I'll share my recipe for Kickin' Honey Roasted Pumpkin Seeds.  

 

Lightly rub olive oil across the cut side of the pumpkin.

  

Place pumpkin cut-side down into roasting pan and pour the water into the bottom.

 

 Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minute or until the skin darkens and it can easily be pierced by a fork.
Remove from oven and let cool.

Remove the skin, it should peel away pretty easily.

Using a stick blender, puree the pumpkin until smooth. If using a blender or food processor, blend half of the pumpkin at a time. 

 

 Line a colander with coffee filters or paper towels and place over a deep bowl.

 

Place the pumpkin in the colander and let the excess water drain into bowl.

 

Let it sit anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour, stirring occasionally. You may also place the pumpkin in cheesecloth and squeeze out the excess liquid.

Use the pumpkin puree in a recipe, or freeze it for future use.

 

 I used the puree to make this delicious Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie with Gingersnap Crust from Martha Stewart Living.

DIY Pumpkin Pie Spice

Fall is here! This is quite possibly the only time of year you use pumpkin pie spice, so you may not have it on hand. Or, maybe you're using it in everything, and run out. I was in the middle of making my Pumpkin Spiced Latte Scrub the other day when I realized I was totally out of an important ingredient, pumpkin pie spice! I started to get upset, then realized it would be super easy to just make my own, since I knew I had the listed ingredients in my cabinet already. 

DIY Pumpkin Pie Spice

 Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
•  2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice

 

 

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine ingredients and mix well.
2. Store in an airtight container.

 

Combine cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice in a small bowl.

 

Mix ingredients until well-combined. 

 That's it!

You could easily double this recipe to get more, but this recipe fits perfectly inside these small pumpkin pie spice containers so I just refilled the one I had!