Homemade Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

In my effort to not waste anything that could be used, this is the first year I roasted the seeds harvested from carving pumpkins.  I have to admit this task was harder than I thought it would be. 

I started by sorting the pumpkin insides from the seeds.  I rinsed and laid flat to dry on a dish towel.  Originally, I tried a strainer to rinse the seeds but neither the seeds or the pumpkin would pass through the holes.  Then I found it hard to rinse the seeds without at least 1/2 cup of my precious harvest being washed down the drain.  I ended up doing this part my hand which took longer than I prefer.  If you have any tips on this step I'm all ears!

Then, I searched for recipes on what to do and really none of them sounded good.  I didn't want to do salty and the ones that were sweet had way too much sugar!  So, I did my own thing.  Here is what you need:

2 cups of pumpkin seeds
2 Tablespoons butter
1/8 cup sugar
1 tsp of cinnamon
1/2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice

I started by tossing about 2 cups of seeds in 2 tablespoons of melted butter.  Then I mixed the sugar and spices together.

Lay out the pumpkin seeds on a cookie sheet or bar pan.  I prefer the pans that have an edge for this kind of thing.  It keeps seeds from slipping off into the overn and burning.

Sprinkle about a 1/3 of the mixture on the seeds and put in the oven at 350 for 5 minutes.  Sprinkle another 1/3 of the sugar mixture on and bake for 5 more minutes.  It's ok to toss the seeds in between baking sets, just make sure they are laying flat when they go back in the even.  Then sprinkle the remaining sugar mixture on and cook for an addtional 10 minutes. 

Once they cool put into a bowl and serve!  Enjoy!