Last year around this time my husband brought 11 pumpkins home. Yup, you read right! He wanted to line our driveway with the pumpkins, which looked pretty cool, I must say, but the problem was that I was left with a ridiculous amount of pumpkin and seeds! I couldn’t just throw them away! I had to find a solution.
Every year, when I’m trying to figure out what to do with my pumpkin seeds, I end up doing the traditional roasted, savoury pumpkin seeds. One day, I had an “ah-ha” moment and wondered how my recipe for candied nuts would work out on my pumpkin seeds. The result…ridiculously addicting salty and sweet candied pumpkin seeds! This is one of my favourite recipes to date and I will never go back to making those regular roasted pumpkin seeds again!
This recipe works really quickly so have everything ready to go. Don’t be discouraged by the stickiness and stringiness when you first pour over the syrup and stir it with the seeds. Trust me, this recipe always works! Once you scrape those sticky pumpkin seeds back into the pot, with the heat off, and vigorously stir, you will see the sugar crystallize right before your eyes! Make sure, however, that the pot is very small so that you can use the edges of the pot to break apart the clusters.
This is a really a fun recipe and I highly recommend you give it a try! I added a YouTube video (above) just in case you want to see exactly how these pumpkin seeds are made.
I have a few more pumpkin recipes to go and then I’m retiring this seasonal fruit until next year!
With Love,
Julie
Sweet & Salty Candied Pumpkin Seeds
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: 1 cup 1x
Description
*Make sure that the pot is very small so that you can use the edges of the pot to break apart the clusters.
Ingredients
- 1 cup plain, unshelled pumpkin seeds
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp water
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Make sure your pumpkin seeds are clean and dry. Pour the pumpkin seeds into a large bowl and add the cinnamon. Stir until the seeds are coated.
- Add the water and sugar into a saucepan over medium high heat. Do not stir. Keep a close eye on your syrup. Just as the syrup is just starting to turn a very light shade of amber and is syrupy, pour the syrup over your pumpkin seeds and stir to coat the seeds (it will be very stringy). Shut off the heat on the stove and scrape the syrup coated seeds back into the same saucepan. Continue to stir the seeds in the saucepan. As you continue to stir you will see the sugar begin to crystallize. Sprinkle the salt over the seeds and continue to stir just until the salt is evenly incorporated and the seeds don’t stick together anymore.
- Pour the seeds onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, spread them out, sprinkle them with a little more salt and let them dry out and cool.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
