Baked Pumpkin Seeds

It’s not fall for me if I haven’t stuck my hand inside a pumpkin to get all of its seeds out! But what comes before gutting out your pumpkin and baking its seeds? A day at the pumpkin patch!

Let’s begin!

The first weekend of October we went to a local pumpkin patch in Rolla, Missouri – Pete’s Pumpkin Patch. There are a few local places but this one has been our favorite while living here. There is much variety for kids of all ages to enjoy. Our toddlers love it! We will miss it once moving to Kansas. But that gives us another opportunity to find something new!

Before picking out our pumpkin at the patch, we explored the activities provided on the farm. Some of these things include slides, a tire tower, trains, bounce houses and a corn pit. Me and my husband personally love the corn pit most. It’s the best!

Then, before we got too tuckered out, we took the tractor over to the pumpkins. My son was looking forward to this part the most. Once arriving, I snapped a few pictures, helped the kids find a pumpkin for themselves and then I got to hunting. It didn’t take us long to find our favorites. I don’t look for anything special when I get a pumpkin. I think I’m just so wrapped up in the excitement of it all that I don’t care much. I just make sure there’s no mold or huge blemishes. Something that gives me a clean canvas for carving!

Fast forward to our carving session! Due to my husbands’ schedule, it was difficult to find time to make our jack o lanterns. So, we didn’t get the opportunity to do so until this last weekend – the Saturday before Halloween. It worked out this way so our pumpkins could be fresh for Halloween night.

Be sure to draw your jack o lantern face!

Disclaimer: So, remember those cool pumpkins we picked? Squirrels decided to have it as their snack! I personally didn’t feel comfortable using those pumpkins for the seeds since they started to rot in the areas they were eaten at. With that being said, we picked up a few pumpkins at the grocery store. It was a bummer but life happens. Lucky for us they were on sale!

Normally we carve outside but it was raining. Instead, we put a large scrap sheet on the dining room table and got to business there. This changed the pace for us and it turns out we enjoyed this setting more. I put on one of our thrifted records - music from the classic Alfred Hitchcock films. Listening to the soundtrack from Psycho really set the tone – we loved it!

Our kids are still little but are able to do more this year when it comes to festive things. It made this event more special than in years past. I guided my son in cutting out his jack o lanterns face and my daughter got her hands messy pulling out the seeds. My husband got his power tool out for his carving session. In no time, we all had our faces cut out! We decided to put them in our shed until the eve of Halloween to avoid curious, hungry animals.

Now that we have our pumpkin seeds and gunk in a bowl, let’s get to preparing and making our seeds!

What you’ll need:

·      A strainer to dump the pumpkin guts and seeds into

Keep the original bowl for separation

·      A 9x11 baking sheet – or whatever sheet is big enough for your seeds

·      Foil

·      Nonstick spray

·      Salt or other desired seasoning

·      Dried out pumpkin seeds

Directions:

·      Separate the two. Grab a strainer and dump everything in there. Place the bowl in the sink and turn on the water. I feel like having running water makes things easier. Begin to separate the seeds and put the guts into the original bowl. Continue to do this until you have completely separated the two. There’s always going to be just a little bit of pumpkin gunk on your seeds; it’s just a part of it.

·      Get your baking sheet ready. The size of your baking sheet doesn’t matter as long as it fits all of your seeds and you can flatten them down in a single layer. Line your baking sheet with foil and spray with nonstick spray. I do this because I don’t like to run the risk of anything getting stuck.

*** Another note to add: I feel like my method for drying the seeds each year changes or I forget what I did the prior year. This year, I just left them on the baking sheet overnight to dry longer. The next morning, I ended up dumping the seeds back into a large clean bowl. I got a clean dish cloth out, placed it over the seeds and used my hands to grip the seeds to try and dry them further. It’s important to remember that the seeds can still feel slimy but they aren’t necessarily wet. I forget this every single year.

·      Preheat your oven to 375 F. Place your seeds back onto the cooking sheet and generously season with salt or other desired seasoning. Stir them around to evenly distribute the seasoning.  

·      Once your oven is preheated, bake in 10 minute increments. Stir at the end of each 10 minute mark. What you’re looking for is a golden brown and no shine. You want them dry and crispy so you can get that good crunch! I think mine baked for a total of 40 minutes.

·      Let them cool completely for about 30 minutes and place into a jar or your desired container. Listen to their pops when you take them out of the oven!

Enjoy your homemade pumpkin seeds!

Cheers!

Elizabeth Buford