Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

Have I told you lately how much I love my freezers? I know its approaching pumpkin season, but I still have plenty of seeds in my freezer from when I grew a bounty of pumpkins two years ago. Check out the date on that baggie: December '07!

When I processed my pie pumpkins to freeze the pulp for bread and pies, I saved all the seeds and froze them. You don't need to do anything except measure them into the baggies and freeze. You can use whatever pumpkin seeds you have... heck, keep them from your jack o'lantern. I prefer the smaller seeds from pie pumpkins because the hulls are more tender and I like that, but they're all good.

Thaw the seeds out and let them come to room temperature before preparing. If you try and mix them with the butter when they're still cold, you'll get a clumpy, yucky mess.

Mix the seeds, melted butter, Worcestershire sauce, and seasoning salt (like Johnny's) together. Spread the seeds out onto a sheet pan and throw in a 250 degree F oven. Bake, stirring occasionally, until they are nicely browned, about one hour.

Let the seeds cool completely before storing in an air tight container. I find that plastic bags do not keep them at their freshest. I prefer to keep them in a canning jar with an air tight lid.

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
Yield: 2 cups

2 cups unwashed seeds
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 TBS melted butter
1 tsp seasoning salt

Mix all ingredients together and spread onto a sheet pan. Bake at 250 degrees F for an hour, stirring occasionally, until they are nice and toasty brown. Cool completely before stirring in an air tight container.