[/caption]Have you carved your pumpkin yet? Make sure to save your seeds – and turn them into delicious Thai Candied Pumpkin seed treats!
Trick your friends by surprising them with a nutritious and healthy alternative to the mounds of candy bars and chocolates handed out this weekend. Pumpkin is a lower fat seed and rich in zinc and protein, but when mixed with sweet-hot-salty syrup and baked until crunchy they do become rather addictive so be sure to follow the portion size!
Here’s the recipe from the H3 kitchen:
Thai Candied Pumpkin Seeds
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 cup Demerara (raw) sugar
- ¼ cup water
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 3 cups raw pumpkin seeds
PREPARATION:
• Heat oven to 400°.
• Combine first five ingredients in a sauce pot and gently simmer to a light caramel
• Stir in pumpkin seeds
• Spread seeds thinly on a spray-oiled baking sheet and place in hot oven for 10 minutes
• Remove from oven and stir seeds with a broad, flat, metal spatula, pulling seeds from the edges of the pan to the middle and the middle to the edges to help evenly brown
• Return pan to oven and bake 5-10 minutes longer until seeds are vigorously bubbling, watch carefully
• Remove from oven and stir again. The stirring causes crystallization
• Scatter seeds onto a sheet of parchment or wax paper and allow to cool
• When cool break apart
• Store in an air-tight container
Number of servings: 24
Serving Size: 2 Tbsp
Calories: 189
Fat Grams: 12
Protein: 8 grams
