Pumpkin Seed Brittle

I love pumpkin flavoured things.  Pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin pie, pumpkin butter, pumpkin candies… you name it, i love it.  The other day I was walking by my corner fruit market and they had baskets of pie pumpkins 2 for $3.00.   Of course I couldn’t pass it up.  Granted I had never ever bought a pumpkin.. minor detail really.

I grew up in an apartment building and have always hated halloween.  With no stoop to put a jack-o-latern on and no holiday spirit there had never been any need for my household to buy a pumpkin.  So I’ve gone a quarter century without a pumpkin of my own… until now.  Now I have two.

I spent last night roasting and puree the pumpkin flesh for various other projects.  I had intended to make pumpkin butter tonight but I didn’t have brown sugar or lemons so I had to pass (plus it’s like a hurricane outside and I didn’t want to go back out).  What I DID have was about 3 cups of pumpkin seeds and web access which is how I decided to make pumpkin brittle.

Yes, like peanut  brittle but with pumpkin seeds.

You pretty much dissolve sugar in water and water for it to reach a certain temperature.  Stir in the seeds, wait for it to crystallize then wait for it to melt down… and voila! Pumpkin seed brittle.

Of course I’m a dumbbell sometimes and I put the hot mixture on ungreased wax paper and it stuck.  So about 10 minutes after this picture is me waving pieces of brittle over a candle to try and melt off the wax paper… NOT FUN.  But other than that it’s delicious and BETTER than peanut brittle because it feels healthier.

I’ve been making a lot of treats these days… maybe tomorrow I will try to whip up a dinner feast.  No guarantees.