Nut-Free Halloween Treat--Pumpkin-Seed Brittle

Since many of us have been visiting pumpkin patches lately or plan to do so in the near future, you may be wondering what to do with all of your leftover pumpkin seeds. Toasting them with a little olive oil and salt is always a nice option, or sprinkling them with cinnamon sugar is a nice sweet treat for fall. But we've been there, done that, right?

Leave it to Martha Stewart to find a really creative treat using pumpkin seeds.

For those of us dealing with nut allergies, peanut brittle is off-limits so I was delighted to find a recipe for pumpkin-seed brittle while flipping through "Martha Stewart Halloween" magazine. (I can't resist her holiday-themed anything.) It's really easy as well as being an inventive and tasty way to use pumpkin seeds leftover from pumpkin carving. Here's the recipe:



Pumpkin-Seed Brittle from Martha Stewart magazine Halloween special issue, Fall 2009
(This magazine is available at all major booksellers, newstands and supermarkets.)


(Toast the pumpkin seeds by spreading them on a baking sheet in a 350 degree oven for 7-10 minutes, turning occasionally.)


Ingredients:


4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for baking sheet

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

1 cup hulled pumpkin seeds, toasted



Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 11-by-17-inch rimmed baking sheet.


Melt butter in small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in sugar and honey. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Cook, without stirring, until mixture is medium amber in color and a candy thermometer registers 280 degrees, about 6 minutes. Stir in pumpkin seeds. Cook until mixture reaches 300 degrees on the candy thermometer, about 2 minutes. Pour onto prepared sheet and let cool completely before breaking into pieces.