Cooking Pumpkin Seeds

It's that time of year again—pumpkin time! October rolls around and the pumpkins start popping out on doorsteps, the Halloween decorations grace stores' shelves, and the pumpkin carving kits sell like crazy. A couple nights before Halloween you carve the pumpkins and make them scary, funny, or artwork and then you're left with all these pumpkin seeds. What do you do with them? Fortunately there is something pretty simple you can do with those pumpkin seeds and it's a tasty solution!

It's actually traditional in many circles to roast the pumpkin seeds to provide a tasty snack after carving and other seasonal festivities. It's so simple and you can use as much or as little as you want. Here are some simple steps to follow as you begin roasting your own pumpkin seeds.

1. Lay the pumpkin seeds relatively flat on a pan.
2. Spray them with PAM or another cooking oil.
3. Sprinkle any combination of salt, garlic salt, onion powder, or any other preferred seasoning on top of the pumpkin seeds. Toss the seeds then to coat them with your chosen seasoning.
4. Put in the toaster oven or regular oven at about 350° for about an hour, tossing the seeds every 15 or 20 minutes.
5. Enjoy!

Don't forget to rinse the pumpkin seeds and get off any pumpkin guts from the seeds—that may not be as appetizing! Pumpkin seeds work great as an appetizer, as a snack, as an after-dinner treat and definitely add to the spirit of the season. I know of many families who say that an autumn without toasted pumpkin seeds isn't an autumn at all! So if you haven't tried these before, you might want to test it out and see if it's anything you'd want to continue doing and enjoying, Good luck in your pumpkin seed cooking endeavors!