Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

One of my most favorite things to do after carving a pumpkin is roasting the seeds. And boy, did we have a lot of seeds from four pumpkins! While this colander does not seem like it is that full, it is the biggest one I have, and it took me almost a hour to get all the seeds clean and free of goop. 

First, wash the seed thoroughly under warm water, and get rid of any orange pumpkin goop. Dry the seeds off  as best you can on paper towels, before placing on a non-stick baking sheet.

Once you transfer them onto a baking sheet, shake the baking sheet until all the seeds are evenly distributed. 

Next, let the seeds dry out even more. Sometimes I leave them overnight on top of the oven, but for sake of time, I put them out in the warm October sun for about 2 hours. 

First, preheat your oven for 350 degrees.

Next, decide what you want to top them with. In the past, I have used Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning, which gives a nice salty flavor with a hit of heat. Yum! But this year, I decided to keep things simple, and sweet, especially since I have two pans full. The first pan I used Savory's Himalayan Pink Sea Salt, which gives a good salt, but not overpowering, flavor.

The second pan was the sweet stuff, using Savory's Pure Maple Sugar and Cassia Ground Cinnamon. 

I sprayed both sets of seeds with a little butter flavored PAM and then sprinkled the toppings on. 

Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Then, using a spatula, move the seeds around, so that the toppings can get on both sides, and you aren't browning just one side of the seed. Bake for another 10 minutes, and remove from oven. Let cool for 10-15 minutes before eating, if you like them warm, or place them in baggies like I did to give to guests or save for later. Or serve them on Halloween night for a tasty and good for you treat!