Whooo-Hoooo-Hoooo-Hoooo

Chef Linda Weiss, author of Memories From Home, Cooking with Family & Friends

Whooooooooooo! Are you scared? The pumpkins in the photos were carved by Ed Jardine and his family. The kids get their hands into the pumpkin to get the seeds after the parents cut open the top of the pumpkin. After the seeds are removed, Courtney Jardine prepares the pumpkin seeds for roasting with cinnamon sugar. Ed and the kids carve the pumpkin for display at the front door.

I found out about Courtney's delicious pumpkin seeds when Ed called me and told me that they are the best pumpkin seeds he's ever had. So, thanks for sharing these great Halloween pumpkins and pumpkin seed recipe with us.  It's all in family fun at Halloween!

Courtney Jardine told me that she had no specific recipe, but this is what she does to make cinnamon-sugar pumpkin seeds:

Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Seeds

After you have removed the seeds from the pumpkin, wash the seeds and drain in a colander. Wipe the excess water off the seeds with a cloth or paper towels and place them in a bowl. Add enough melted butter to coat the seeds well. Add cinnamon and sugar to coat the seeds. Spread the seeds on a foil lined baking sheet and bake in a preheated 350� oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Make sure you cool them before eating.

Below is another recipe for pumpkin seeds that I found while looking for directions on roasting pumpkin seeds. It�s more of a savory recipe. Although Courtney tells me that she never dries her seeds before cooking them because the heat dries them anyway and her recipe always works perfectly fine, this recipe below does call for drying.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

2 cups pumpkin seeds

3 tablespoons melted butter or oil

1 teaspoon salt*

Getting the seeds out and preparing them for roasting:  Cut a hole in the pumpkin so that you can scrape the seeds with a spoon. Have a bowl of water ready and put the seeds in the water to clean them by rubbing the seeds together with your fingers. Lay the seeds on dry paper towels to dry completely before cooking.

When the seeds are dry, place them in a bowl and toss with melted butter, or oil, and salt. Put them on a baking sheet and place them in a 250� oven for approximately 45 minutes or until lightly golden.

*If you'd like to flavor the seeds, don't add the salt but add taco seasoning mix, or garlic salt, or even popcorn seasoning, before roasting.

Cool, and eat right away or store in an airtight container for 3-4 days.

---Posted October 30, 2009---