If you are carving a pumpkin for Halloween or slicing one up for pumpkin soup or bread, be sure not to throw out the seeds. Pumpkin seeds are a wonderful snack when dried and roasted. Pumpkin seeds are also packed with magnesium, zinc, potassium and iron, an additional and healthy benefit. If your pumpkin seeds have already been dried, there are only a few more steps to a delicious and nutritious snack.
Instructions
1. To begin, pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. While the oven is warming up, spread the dried seeds out on a clean cookie sheet. Try not to overlap too many seeds, as you want each one to roast uniformly. You do not need to grease the cookie sheet, as the seeds will not stick to its surface while baking.
2. If you want to flavor the husks of the seeds, do so before baking. Use salt and cayenne pepper to make a spicy snack or sugar and cinnamon for a sweet one. Sprinkle the seasonings evenly over the entire pan of seeds. Then, place the pan into the oven, uncovered.
3. Bake the seeds in the oven for 20 minutes or until the seeds are golden in color and are crunchy when chewed. Take the seeds out of the oven and allow to cool completely before transferring from the cookie sheet into a bowl or container.
4. The roasted pumpkin seeds may be eaten two different ways. The first option is to eat both the husk (the outer, white portion) and the seed (inside the husk and green in color) together. The husk is fairly fibrous but is safe to eat.
5. The second option is to crack open the husk and only eat the inner seed. You can use your fingers or your teeth to open the tough, outer husk to get to the seed or, alternatively, a miniature nutcracker. However, your teeth tend to be the perfect shape and size to open the husk.
The desired method of eating the roasted pumpkin seeds is up to each snacker's personal preference.
Tags: cookie sheet, open husk, pumpkin seeds, Pumpkin seeds, roasted pumpkin, roasted pumpkin seeds