Pumpkin Seed Brittle

The seeds from fall’s most iconic fruit, suspended in glistening amber tiles of carmelized sugar, captures the essence of autumn.

Roasting Pumpkin Seeds

Pumpkin Seed Brittle has been on my mind for a while now. I could just picture its glistening amber tiles of caramelized sugar. I could imagine the transformation of a little sugar and water cooked into a golden syrup, then coating the seeds and suspending them inside. In my thoughts those seeds, harvested from fall’s most iconic fruit, captured the essence of autumn.

So why has it taken so many seasons to make this simple candy? I had a fundamental misunderstanding concerning the seeds themselves. Having read about the seasonal fun and wholesome pleasure of roasting pumpkin seeds, I wanted to join in and share them with family and friends. I knew about their nutritional fortitude and was even aware of their status as a superfood. The beauty of their tear-shaped form freed from the pumpkin’s internal goo and roasted to a golden brown was enticing. And yet I had never figured out how to eat roasted pumpkin seeds without harboring a secret fear that I would get a splinter lodged in my esophagus.

 A New Approach

While people seem to have been roasting and enjoying pumpkin seeds for years I was never able to swallow more than a few. I would clean them, rinse them, toss them with oil and seasoning and pop them in the oven. Some time later they would come out beautifully golden but with the consistency of shoe leather or balsa wood. Too fibrous for my taste they would soon end up in the trash.

Then I discovered roasted squash seeds, much smaller and more tender than the pumpkin seeds from a jack-o’-lantern you might carve for Halloween. Delicata squash seeds are particularly tasty. But delicata squash do not provide nearly the quantity of seeds that come from a jack-o’-lantern. After roasting and tasting I seldom had enough available for making candy. 

Finally, I took another approach. Instead of roasting my own seeds I began with the kind of you can buy at the market. The ones I used here are quite pretty. Look for packages of roasted pumpkin seeds.  If you can’t find them easily ask for pepitas. They are also pumpkin seeds but without the fibrous outer shell.

Pumpkin Seed Brittle

Course: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

8

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

15

minutes

Total time

30

minutes

Pumpkin Seed Brittle captures the essence of autumn by suspending the seeds of fall’s most iconic fruit in glistening amber tiles of carmelized sugar.

Ingredients

• 1 cup granulated cane sugar

• ½ cup water

• ½ cup roasted pumpkin seeds, roasted squash seeds or pepitas

Directions

• Generously grease a baking sheet and set aside.
• Combine water and sugar in a heavy medium sized pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat stirring constantly until sugar is dissolved. When the mixture boils stop stirring and continue to cook until the syrup turns a golden brown.
• When syrup is golden, remove from heat. Quickly add seeds, swirling the syrup. When the seeds are coated, immediately pour mixture onto the well-greased baking sheet.
• When the brittle is cool break into pieces. Store in an airtight container.
• Enjoy!

Notes

• Try other types of seed brittle using the same basic recipe. I would like to try sesame seed brittle. Sunflower seeds would also be appealing.