I saved all the seeds from this year’s pumpkins, and thought that pumpkin seed brittle sounded interesting. I had made other brittles, but had not used pumpkin seeds before. I’m really glad I tried it, because it’s delicious and perfect for Halloween or Samhain! Here are the ingredients you will need:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spread the pumpkin seeds out on a baking sheet, and bake them for five to ten minutes until they smell fragrant and are a light golden brown. Let them cool, then transfer the toasted seeds to a bowl. Place the bowl next to your work area.
Place your vegan butter, vanilla, baking soda next to your work area as you will need to add them immediately after removing the pot from the heat later. I didn’t get a photo, but you will also need to have a lined sheet pan ready to go. You can line it with either parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Whisk the vegan sugar and salt together in a medium-sized (2 quart) saucepan. I used too big a pot (3 quart) and it affected the accuracy of my candy thermometer.
Add the light corn syrup and water, then whisk together.
Bring the sugar mixture to a boil over medium heat (300 degrees Fahrenheit on my induction cooktop). Stir continuously during this step.
Note: please be very careful from this point until your candy is cooled! Boiling sugar syrup will cause serious burns if you spill it on yourself. This is not a recipe to make with young children or pets around.
Once the mixture is boiling, cover the pot for two minutes. This allows steam to wash any sugar crystals from the sides of the pan.
Clip a candy thermometer to the side of your pan and let the syrup come up to 280 degrees Fahrenheit. Stir occasionally during this step.
(This is why I say to use a smaller pot. I had to tip it to make sure the syrup was deep enough to get an accurate reading on my thermometer.)
Stir in the toasted pumpkin seeds once the temperature reads 280 degrees Fahrenheit.
Turn the heat up to allow the syrup to reach 300 degrees Fahrenheit. I like to turn my induction cooktop to 350 for this step.
Because my pot was too big and the syrup wasn’t deep enough, my candy thermometer refused to go above 290 degrees, so I finally trusted my instincts and nose when the syrup turned a dark amber. I wish I had removed the pot from the heat about 15 seconds sooner, as the brittle was a tiny bit overdone. So, remove at a medium amber if you don’t have a candy thermometer.
Immediately stir in the vanilla and vegan butter.
Then stir in the baking soda.
The syrup will foam up and get lighter.
Immediately spread the candy out onto your prepared pan.
Let the brittle cool, then break it into pieces.
It’s so good!
I love how pretty the pumpkin seeds look through the shiny candy!
Enjoy!
Pumpkin Seed Brittle
This delicious vegan candy is buttery, crunchy, and full of toasted pumpkin seeds!
Ingredients
- 120 g (1 c) Shelled, Raw Pumpkin Seeds
- 21 g (1 1/2 TBS) Vegan Butter (I use Earth Balance Buttery Spread)
- 10 g ( 2 tsp) Vanilla Extract
- 2.5 g (1/2 tsp) Baking Soda
- 200 g (1 c) Vegan Sugar (I use Zulka brand)
- 1.6 g (1/4 tsp) Salt
- 170 g (1/2 c) Light Corn Syrup
- 120 g (1/2 c) Water
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spread the pumpkin seeds out on a baking sheet, and bake them for five to ten minutes until they smell fragrant and are a light golden brown. Let them cool, then transfer the toasted seeds to a bowl. Place the bowl next to your work area.
-
Place your vegan butter, vanilla, baking soda next to your work area as you will need to add them immediately after removing the pot from the heat later. You will also need to have a lined sheet pan ready to go. You can line it with either parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
-
Whisk the vegan sugar and salt together in a medium-sized (2 quart) saucepan. Add the light corn syrup and water, then whisk together.
-
Bring the sugar mixture to a boil over medium heat (300 degrees Fahrenheit on my induction cooktop). Stir continuously during this step. Once the mixture is boiling, cover the pot for two minutes. This allows steam to wash any sugar crystals from the sides of the pan.
-
Clip a candy thermometer to the side of your pan and let the syrup come up to 280 degrees Fahrenheit. Stir occasionally during this step.
-
Stir in the toasted pumpkin seeds once the temperature reads 280 degrees Fahrenheit.
-
Turn the heat up to allow the syrup to reach 300 degrees Fahrenheit. I like to turn my induction cooktop to 350 for this step. Remove from the heat as soon as the syrup reaches 300 degrees! If you are not using a candy thermometer, remove from the heat once the syrup turns a medium amber color.
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Immediately stir in the vanilla and vegan butter, then stir in the baking soda. The syrup will foam up and get lighter.
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Immediately spread the candy out onto your prepared pan.
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Let the brittle cool, then break it into pieces. Store at room temperature in an airtight container. Enjoy!
That looks fantastic!! I will definitely give this a try!
Thank you! Please let me know how your brittle turns out!