It’s Halloween and that means that a lot of families will be carving their pumpkins into scary or funny or ironic jack-o-lanterns. This year, Zuzu insisted on a good, old-fashioned face with triangle eyes and nose and a large, gaping mouth and, for the first time, carved her own pumpkin. And JR has requested a homicidal garden gnome for his jack-o-lantern, so wish me luck with that.
I dutifully saved and roasted the seeds after carving our pumpkins every year, but I found the plain roasted pumpkin seeds a little uninspiring. I wanted to come up with something more creative to do with the seeds My first thought was to make a pumpkin seed chocolate bark maybe with some dried cranberries — and I still might try that sometime.
But on further reflection I decided on a pumpkin seed brittle. You see, Zuzu’s allergies prevent me from cooking with tree nuts and peanuts and I have found that pumpkin seeds often make a good substitute. So, I enjoy trying recipes that traditionally include nuts and peanuts and seeing how well they work with pumpkin seeds.
In this case, pumpkin seed brittle is a terrific substitute for peanut brittle and one that any toffee lover would enjoy. Because they were roasted first, the pumpkin seeds are crispy and the brittle still has a nice snap to it. The taste of the pumpkin seeds comes through and gives a pleasant earthiness to the sweet toffee. A sprinkle of salt is all that is needed to pull the elements together.
As always when making candy, give the pot on the stove your full attention. Sugar syrups go from just right to burnt very quickly and with temperatures this hot, you want to exercise the utmost caution. And please do not send me hate mail for using corn syrup. It really is necessary to achieve the right texture and avoid crystallization when making candy. If you can source it, you could substitute Lyle’s Golden Syrup.
It is also a good idea to invest in a candy thermometer. But you can also use the old-fashioned method of telling when your candy has reached the correct temperature by dropping a piece in cold water and seeing what form it takes: soft ball, hard ball, soft crack or hard crack. That’s straight-up Laura Ingalls Wilder. For a brittle like this, you want to reach the “hard crack” stage, about 300 degrees. That means that a piece dropped in cold water will form a hard thread that will snap when bent.
Packaged in a pretty tin or bakery box, this pumpkin seed brittle would make an outstanding holiday or hostess gift. I can also see it as an elegant garnish to a fall holiday dessert. So, put those leftover pumpkin seeds to good use!
Ingredients
- 9 oz. pumpkin seeds (from about two pumpkins)
- 3 TB olive oil
- Kosher salt
- 2 cups sugar
- ½ cup water
- 4 oz. unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup corn syrup
- ½ tsp baking soda
- Sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300. Rinse the pumpkin seeds and shake dry.
- Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray and spread the pumpkin seeds in an even layer.
- Roast the pumpkin seeds in the oven for 30 minutes to dry them out.
- Remove the pumpkin seeds and turn the oven temperature up to 325. Drizzle the pumpkin seeds with olive oil and toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt to taste.
- Roast the pumpkin seeds until browned and crisp, about 30-40 minutes.
- Allow the pumpkin seeds to cool. (May be done ahead up to this point.)
- To make the brittle, combine the sugar, water, corn syrup and butter in a large deep saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
- Reduce the heat to medium-high and boil the syrup until it reaches the hard crack stage, about 300 degrees, and is brown and smells like caramel. Do not overcook!
- Remove from heat and add the baking soda. Stir in the pumpkin seeds and working quickly, spread in an even layer on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with a flaky sea salt like Maldon.
- Allow to cool for at least thirty minutes.
- Break the brittle into pieces with your hands. Brittle will keep for several weeks in an airtight container.
