Spooky Snacks: Baked Pumpkin Seeds!

Is your October feeling ooky-spooky yet? Halloween is just around the corner! And in the conversations about costumes and candy and serial killers escaping from the insane asylum (Will Jamie Lee Curtis ever be allowed to rest?), it can be easy to overlook the SNACKS.

So today, I'm going to talk about how to bake the perfect salted pumpkin seeds. If you're a caregiver to a little one, I can imagine that there’s a trip to the pumpkin patch circled on the calendar, coming sooner every day. And that means carving pumpkins and making jack-o-lanterns, of course. But why throw all of those insides away? It only takes a little extra time and love to make the seeds from inside those jack-o-lanterns into fun and healthy snacks that you can eat with your little one, a gift to friends, or set out in a bowl at a Halloween party.

The Spooky Steps:

-Harvest your pumpkin seeds! This is the fun part! You and your caregiver (or little!) can have a blast scooping out the pumpkin innards with your hands (a normal aspect of jack-o-lantern carving, anyway). Just don’t throw it out! Save it all in a large bowl, and separate out the seeds into a smaller bowl (it’s okay if they’re still slimy and have stuff on them!).

-Wash them in a colander. Next, we’re going to rinse them quickly to get all of that pumpkin slime off. Put them into a colander and run water over them, mixing them around with your hands slightly.

-Put them in a pot of boiling water for 10 minutes (Have an adult do this one!) Doing this will make them crispier after you bake them! Prepare a pot of boiling water, and after rinsing the seeds, throw them in for 10 minutes. This will also wash off any excess slime/pumpkin guts that you couldn’t get off! Afterward, strain them into the same colander, and leave them on a paper towel to dry for a minute.

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees. While the oven is heating up, spread the seeds onto a baking sheet and add any seasoning that you like! Salt is the simplest and easiest way to season them. They’ll be delicious just like that! But I’ve also heard of adding flavoring them with something hot like chili powder or something sweet like cinnamon sugar. Anything is possible!

-Bake them in the oven for 20 minutes (or until lightly golden). If they don’t seem ready after 20 minutes, bake them for 5 more minutes until they're baked to your liking!

-Take them out and let them cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, test one and add a little more seasoning if needed!

-Ta Da! YOU DID IT! You have delicious homemade pumpkin seeds that you can snack on and brag about to your friends.

Hopefully, I’ve helped you figure out a fun, delicious snack that you can make for and with your ABDL friends! It can be a lot of fun and munching on pumpkin seeds at the end of the night definitely feels like a rewarding accomplishment. Look out for a few more SPOOKY-themed articles throughout this month, the holidays are fast approaching, and we are in the SPIRIT! Speaking of that, what are you going to be for Halloween? We’d love to see it! Let us know, or send a picture of your costume (ABDL or not!) to us on Instagram at @playtymeco!

I used this Simply Recipies article (https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/toasted_pumpkin_seeds/) to brush up on a few things to ensure I was giving you the correct steps, but I also mostly wrote from experience! I started baking my own pumpkin seeds about ten years ago, and it’s been a staple of my Halloween ever since! As always, thanks so much for reading, and I hope the baking goes well!