Pumpkin Seed Brittle Recipes

Steps:

• Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
• Stir pumpkin seeds and sea salt together in a bowl.
• Stir sugar, corn syrup, and water together in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Add butter and bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Boil until mixture is dark golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat; whisk in baking soda.
• Pour pumpkin seeds into sugar mixture and stir until well-combined. Transfer pumpkin seed mixture to prepared baking sheet. Place another silicone baking mat over the top of the pumpkin seed mixture and press down to make an even surface for the brittle. Let harden for about 30 seconds; remove top baking mat. Score surface with a knife to form desired shapes. Cool to room temperature and break into pieces.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 11-by-17-inch rimmed baking sheet; set aside.
• Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in sugar and honey. Bring to a boil. Cook, without stirring, until mixture is medium amber and a candy thermometer registers 280 degrees, about 6 minutes. Stir in pumpkin seeds. Cook until mixture reaches 300 degrees, about 2 minutes. Pour onto prepared baking sheet. Let cool completely. Break into pieces.

Steps:

• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
• Combine sugar, water, and salt in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until sugar has dissolved and turned a golden brown color. Immediately add pumpkin seeds and mix well to coat with the caramelized sugar.
• Spread the very hot pumpkin seed mix thinly onto the prepared baking sheet. Let cool to room temperature. Break or cut into bite-sized pieces. Store in an airtight container in a cool place or in the refrigerator.

Steps:

• Put a 24- by 12-inch sheet of parchment on a work surface and anchor corners with pieces of tape. Bring sugar, water, and sea salt to a boil in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Cook mixture, without stirring, washing down any sugar crystals from side of pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water, until syrup registers 238°F (soft-ball stage) on thermometer, 10 to 12 minutes (sugar syrup will be colorless). Remove from heat and stir in seeds with a wooden spoon, then continue stirring until syrup crystallizes, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Return pan to moderate heat and cook, stirring constantly, until sugar melts completely (sugar will continue to dry and become grainy before melting) and turns a deep caramel color, 4 to 5 minutes more (seeds will be toasted). Carefully pour hot caramel mixture onto parchment and carefully cover with another sheet. Immediately roll out (between sheets of parchment) as thinly as possible with a rolling pin, pressing firmly. Remove top sheet of parchment and immediately cut brittle into pieces with a heavy knife or pizza wheel. Cool brittle completely, then peel paper from bottom. (Alternately, break brittle into pieces once cool.)

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400°F. In medium bowl, toss pumpkin seeds and oil until coated. Spread evenly in ungreased 15x10x1-inch pan. Bake 9 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. In same bowl, mix warm pumpkin seeds, salt, paprika and allspice. Set aside.
• Grease 2 cookie sheets with butter. In 3-quart heavy saucepan, mix sugar, water and corn syrup. Cover; cook over medium heat 2 minutes. Cook uncovered over medium heat 25 to 30 minutes, stirring frequently, to 300°F on candy thermometer or until small amount of mixture dropped into cup of very cold water separates into hard, brittle threads. (Watch carefully so mixture does not burn.) Remove from heat. Add 2 tablespoons butter and the seasoned pumpkin seeds; stir until butter is melted. Immediately stir in baking soda.
• Pour mixture onto cookie sheets and quickly spread to 1/4 inch thick with buttered spatula. Cool completely. Break into pieces. Store tightly covered at room temperature.

Steps:

• Place the oil and seeds into a 10-inch saute pan and set over medium-high heat. Toast the seeds while constantly moving the pan. You will smell their aroma and hear some of them begin to crackle when they are toasted, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer the seeds to a small mixing bowl, add the cayenne, cinnamon and salt and stir to combine.
• Line a half sheet pan with a silicone baking mat.
• Place a 3-quart saucier inside a large cast iron skillet. Add the sugar and water to the saucepan, and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until it comes to a boil. Stop stirring, cover and cook for 3 minutes. Uncover, reduce heat to medium, and cook until the sugar is a light amber color, approximately 25 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the pumpkin seed mixture. This will greatly reduce the temperature of the sugar, so work quickly. Once evenly mixed, pour the mixture onto the prepared half sheet pan. Using an oiled spatula, spread thin. You will have to work quickly when pouring out and spreading the mixture in the pan. Cool completely, approximately 30 minutes, and then break into pieces. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Steps:

• Set aside a large nonstick baking mat or a sheet of oiled aluminum foil. In a small saucepan, combine sugar, cream of tartar, and 1/2 cup water. Place over low heat, and stir until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium-high to bring mixture to a boil. Allow to boil without stirring until syrup turns golden amber, about 10 minutes. (Do not leave unattended as syrup caramelizes suddenly and burns easily.)
• Remove from heat, and quickly add pumpkin seeds. Tilt pan to coat seeds evenly. Immediately pour onto baking mat or foil, trying to spread mixture in a thin layer. Use a spatula to spread mixture evenly before it begins to set and harden.
• Allow to cool and harden completely before breaking into pieces. Store in an airtight container.

Steps:

• Prepare a flat baking sheet with a non-stick baking mat or silpat.
• Place the sugar in a small, non-reactive metal pan. Cook over medium heat until caramelized in a deep amber color.
• Immediately add the butter, vanilla and Ancho, whisking continuously until completely emulsified and combined. Stir in the pumpkin seeds and spread onto prepared baking sheet. Allow to cool and then break into shards and use to garnish cupcakes.

Steps:

• Stir sugar, corn syrup and water in a heavy-bottomed saucepan with a candy thermometer, over high heat until sugar dissolves. Cook to 270 (it will take a while to get there, but you don't really need to stir it at this point. Just every now and again.).
• When the mixture hits 270, add the pumpkin seeds (or other seeds) and start stirring. Keep stirring until you reach 290 (hard crack stage.) The temperature will fall but will rebound pretty quickly. Some of the seeds will pop, and they and the syrup will get amber-colored and develop a lovely toasty smell.
• Turn off the heat when it reaches 290, and add the baking soda and butter. Stir furiously while the mixture foams up (only a few seconds.)
• Quickly pour it into the prepared parchment paper and smooth it out with the spatula.
• Either let cool completely and break into pieces, or let semi-harden and cut into strips/triangles with a pizza cutter.

Steps:

• In a heavy skillet combine the sugar and the water, cook the mixture over moderately low heat, stirring and washing down the sugar crystals with a brush dipped in cold water until the sugar is dissolved, and simmer it, undisturbed, tilting and rotating the skillet, until it is a deep caramel color. Stir in the pumpkin seeds, stirring until they are coated well, and turn the mixture out onto a buttered sheet of foil, spreading it evenly. Let the brittle cool completely and break it into pieces.
• To toast pumpkin seeds:
• In a bowl toss the seeds with the oil and salt to taste and on an ungreased baking sheet bake them in the middle of a preheated 250°F. oven, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour to 1 1/4 hours, or until they are golden and crisp. (Alternatively the prepared seeds may be spread in a microwave-safe glass baking dish, microwaved at high power (100%), stirring after every minute, for 4 minutes, and microwaved at medium power (50%), stirring after every 2 minutes, for 6 to 8 minutes, or until they are crisp.) Makes 1/2 cups.