foodie friday: pumpkin seeds sweet or spicy

Hi all! Hope life is treating you well. This year autumn has been better than usual with perfectly crisp air and leaves that turned rich hues. I live near the gate of Skyline Drive so leaves are a big deal around here, especially when it's a "good" year. Since I just carved some pumpkins it only made sense to share some seed roasting goods today. I have to say, I think my favorite is plain, salted seeds but I wanted to experiment this year.

I made some sweet, candied ones for myself and smoky, spicy ones for Oscar.  It’s so fun and easy which makes it a perfect snack to include kids in. Charlie even sneaked a few fallen nuggets. Who can blame him?

I started off with two baking sheets. I lined mine with my silpat but you can use parchment paper or go au-natural. For each cup of seeds, I tossed them with one melted tablespoon of unsalted butter. We could just stop here, but for giggles let’s continue.

For the sweet seeds I compiled all my seasonings together and had a taste contest. Pumpkin seasoning came out on top, because of his diversity and flexibility. But it was a close call; cinnamon gave him a run for his money. Mr. Pumpkin contains cinnamon, so it was a win-win for everyone. Add sugar. Bake. Noms.

Now for mister spicy pants. I wanted to make sure he was salty too so I used garlic salt, chili powder, curry for smokiness and cayenne for a little kick. All of these ingredients are flexible. Here’s the deets:

Sweet Pumpkin Seeds

1 tablespoon pumpkin spice
¼ cup sugar
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1 cup raw pumpkin seeds

Dry seeds with paper towels. Spread on baking sheet with parchment paper, or spray with Pam. Toss seeds with melted butter, spread thinly over baking sheet. Sprinkle with spice and sugar mixture. Bake 300 degrees for approximately 50 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

Spicy Pumpkin Seeds

2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

Dry seeds with paper towels. Spread on baking sheet with parchment paper, or spray with Pam. Toss seeds with melted butter, spread thinly over baking sheet. Sprinkle with spice mixture. Bake 300 degrees for 40-50 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Anyone else have a good recipe for pumpkin seeds or another use for them?