If you are going to rot your teeth out with sweets on this Halloween, why not do it with a sweet, savory, nutty, homemade confection, that also makes use of the often discarded remnants of jack-o-lantern carving?? There are many recipes for pumpkin seed brittle out there, but most use the raw, hulled seeds (or pepitas). Really wanting to use the seeds from my own carved pumpkin, instead of buying additional ones at the health food store, I did track down instructions to try to hull my own. It can be done, but was not wildly successful, or worth the effort, in my opinion. First you rinse off the seeds and thoroughly dry them out, which I did in a 250 degree oven for about 15 minutes. Then crack and smash the outer part of the seeds with a rolling pin, or in my case, a meat tenderizer. Then, place all of the seeds in a bowl, fill with water, swish them around vigorously, and theoretically, the inner seed kernels will sink and the outer shells will float to the top. Which did happen in my case, for about six of the seeds. The rest didn’t really get smashed effectively or broke in half completely, and I found myself picking each seed from its shell—not practical when I needed at least a half cup. So then, why not make brittle using the entire seed, which we eat anyway when making roasted pumpkin seeds? Success! And still getting to use our own seeds. And much easier. And the added bonus of ending up with a flavor almost identical to caramel corn, with some nutty seeds thrown in. Cracker Jack! So wishing you a very happy Halloween, and treat yourself to this treat very soon. (and all winter long with any winter squash seeds.) ![]()
4 responses to “Pumpkin Seed Brittle”Leave a Reply | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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This looks SO MUCH better than the recipe I made from Gourmet, which was too dark for me and didn’t have any butter in it. Two questions, though: what is the purpose of the baking soda? And How do you immerse a candy thermometer properly–mine never reaches the “immersion” marker on it, as I’ve never got it in a deep enough mixture (despite using a small saucepan). I always tilt it forwards and hope the bulb is far enough in to give an accurate measure, but wondering if there’s some other trick?
Better than Gourmet…such high praise! Thanks!!
Here is a great description of why the baking soda is helpful for the texture (from: http://www.finecooking.com/articles/how-to/peanut-brittle.aspx) “The trick, though, is to make a candy that’s truly brittle so that it breaks when you bite it, rather than a hard candy that must be sucked like a lollipop or toffee. By adding baking soda to the sugar syrup, you unleash a zillion minuscule air bubbles that give the candy a porous, delicate texture. Butter also helps to make the candy tender and easier to chew, as well as adding its own rich flavor.”
I have the same issue with the candy thermometer. I either tilt my saucepan, or double the recipe. If you get quick and good at it, dunking a drop of the caramel in a bowl of water to check for the hard crack stage, often ends up being easier than dealing with a thermometer.
Enjoy!!
What a fantastic alternative to fun sized junk that seems to attack from all sides this time of year. And with your presentation it might even work for trick or treaters (do you get any up there?) My mom and I have a tradition of toffee making, but I confess that I burn it as often as it works. Going to give your recipe a shot.
I may try this with Xylitol to cut the sugar. I love pumpkin seeds, but being diabetic, this would not be a good treat.