Perfectly Crisp Pumpkin Seeds

On Monday I went over our Halloweekend 2012, but want to dig a little deeper into those roasty, toasty, crunchy pumpkin seeds I glossed over. Everyone has their own go-to pumpkin seed recipe, and some even make their seeds ultra fancy with different flavors (cinnamon-sugar? spicy? curried?). While fancy flavors are fun, this girl enjoys the no-frills original recipe - nothing else but olive oil and sea salt. Mmmm...

This year, I tried a new method to give the seeds a little more crunch than I've gotten in the past. It's just one more step and 10 more minutes of time, but it totally pays off in the end. Our seeds were spectacular this year - and possibly even better the next day (I don't have a point of reference on how they hold up two days later... because ours certainly didn't make it that far).

Here's what you do.

Start with a bunch o' seeds. We carved two big honkin' pumpkins this year and ended up with about two cups or so of seeds once we were done. Try to pick out as many of the globs and strings as you can, but don't worry about them being ultra pristine. Then, soak 'em overnight in a big bowl of water.

The next day, dump your seeds in a strainer and rinse them off. I found the soaking of the seeds really helped make any remaining strings and globs wash off on their own very easily. After the seeds have been rinsed and de-strung, add them to a pot of water with one teaspoon of sea salt. Bring the water and seeds to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. The boiling process is what boosts the crispiness factor!

After 10 minutes simmering, strain the seeds then spread them out on a clean dish towel to dry. You can dab the top of the seeds with another clean towel to speed up the process. Don't worry about the seeds getting perfectly dry... just dry enough to where they aren't slippery. As the seeds are drying, preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

When seeds have quasi-dried, add them to a large bowl and drizzle in about two teaspoons of olive oil and mix it all up so the oil coats the seeds. Then, spread all the seeds out on a large baking pan, trying your best to keep them in a single layer (no overlapping). Add some more sea salt to taste, then pop in the oven. Bake for about 15 minutes, then stir the seeds around, and bake for about 20-25 minutes longer.

Honestly, they turn out so wonderfully crisp and crunchy this way. No more chewy seeds!

We munched on the seeds between visits by Trick or Treaters on Saturday, and the rest kept until Sunday, when I think I liked them even more! Ultra addicting - the perfect (healthy) fall snack!