Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

Toasted pumpkin seeds, or pepitas, make a tasty and healthy snack. And why throw away all of those seeds when you carve your jack o'lantern? It does take some time to make them, but they are worth it!

The first step to making toasted pumpkin seeds is to rinse all of the pulp off of the seeds. This is the time-consuming part! Next, you need to let them dry. I like to wrap them in a dish towel and swing the towel around a few times to get most of the water off of them. Then I spread them out on wax paper (I've tried paper towels, but they tend to stick to the paper) and let them dry overnight.

When you are ready to toast the seeds, preheat the oven to 250 degrees. You need to mix the seeds with oil or butter and whatever seasoning you like. I mix the seeds of one pumpkin with 2 tbsp. of olive oil and a teaspoon of garlic salt. Toss in a bowl until all the seeds are coated. Spread them out on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake for one hour, tossing them every fifteen minutes. They should be golden brown when done.

Cool the seeds before eating. You can store them in an airtight container for 3 months, or refrigerate up to one year. But they probably won't last that long!!

Happy Halloween!!