26 Years of Award Winning Baking & Dessert Video Recipes

breakfast & brunch bars & squares cupcakes shortbreads breads youtube channel
about us
recipe index
substitutions
ingredients
glossary
conversions
weight vs volume
easter baking
apple recipes
pumpkin recipes
cranberry recipes
chocolate recipes
healthy baking
eggless recipes
comfort foods
blueberry recipes
biscotti recipes
pudding recipes
english tea party
trifle recipes
ice cream recipes
strawberry recipes
lemon recipes
thanksgiving baking
candy recipes
halloween baking
valentine's baking
christmas cookies
christmas baking
christmas candy
baking history
bibliography

 
Subscribe Now
 

Pumpkin Seed Brittle Recipe & Video

Printer Friendly Page

There is always a small bag of raw pumpkin seeds in my freezer. Sometimes I use them to make granola. Other times I sprinkle a handful on top of my quick breads and muffins. But I especially like to use them in this Pumpkin Seed Brittle. This brittle is a delicious confection made of toasted pumpkin seeds encased in a cooked sugar syrup. It's hard and it's brittle, yet crunchy and sweet. It can be eaten alone or ground and sprinkled over a bowl of ice cream, as a garnish for frosted cakes or it makes a nice topping for a pumpkin pie.  

 

All brittles use the most basic of ingredients (sugar, corn syrup, and nuts/seeds). The formula for brittles is about equal volumes of sugar and nuts/seeds, with the volume of corn syrup about half that of the granulated white sugar. What's important to know is that the corn syrup controls the grain of the brittle so adding too little and you have a grainy textured brittle, while adding too much will result in a stringy and sticky brittle.

When making this Pumpkin Seed Brittle we first need to toast the raw and shelled pumpkin seeds until lightly brown. This can be done in a large skillet on the stove over medium heat or you can toast them in a moderate oven. You will be adding the toasted seeds during the cooking of the sugar syrup. Once the sugar syrup has reached the hard crack stage (300 degrees F) (149 degrees C), it's removed from the heat, and baking soda, vanilla extract, and butter are stirred in. The brittle will immediately puff up but just keep stirring until all the ingredients are incorporated. (The reason baking soda is added is that it aids in browning and gives the brittle a lighter and crunchier texture. Butter and vanilla are added for flavor.)

Related Recipes You May Like

Buttercrunch Toffee

Peanut Brittle

Peanut Butter Cups

Fruit & Nut Balls (Sugarplums)

White Chocolate Candy Bars

Peppermint Patties

Pumpkin Seed Brittle: Butter a large baking sheet.

Place the raw and shelled pumpkin seeds on a baking sheet and bake in a 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) oven for about 4-5 minutes or until lightly brown. Remove from oven and set aside.

Have ready the baking soda, vanilla extract, and butter.

In a medium sized saucepan over medium high heat, bring the water, corn syrup, sugar, and salt to a boil, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula. Cover the saucepan with a lid for about one minute to allow the sides of the pan to wash themselves down and dissolve any sugar crystals. Then remove lid and clamp a candy thermometer to the side of the pan, making sure it does not touch the bottom of the pan. Cook until the syrup reaches soft crack stage (280-285 degrees F) (140 degrees C). Stir in the toasted pumpkin seeds and continue cooking the sugar syrup, stirring often to prevent the pumpkin seeds from sticking to the bottom of the saucepan, until the the candy thermometer reaches hard crack stage (300 degrees F) (149 degrees C).

Remove from heat and immediately, and carefully, stir in the baking soda, vanilla extract, and butter (the brittle will puff up) stirring until the foaming almost stops. Immediately pour the brittle, as thinly as possible (but do not spread), onto the buttered baking sheet. If you want a thin brittle, then while the brittle is still very hot, use two forks to stretch the brittle until you get the brittle to how thin you want it. Do this by gently pulling the edges of the brittle, working your way around the entire mass. Let the brittle completely cool and then break into pieces. Store in an airtight container or a plastic freezer bag as this will prevent the brittle from becoming sticky and breaking down. Store at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Makes about 1 1/2 pounds. Preparation time 1 hour.

View comments on this recipe on YouTube

Pumpkin Seed Brittle:

1 1/3 cups (200 grams) shelled raw pumpkin seeds

1/2 teaspoon (2 grams) baking soda

1 teaspoon (4 grams) pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon (13 grams) butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup (120 ml) (115 grams) water

1/2 cup (120 ml) (155 grams) light corn syrup

1 cup (200 grams) white granulated sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

 

Subscribe Now
 
     
 

 

 

New Videos

   
   

 
 

Contact Us   Privacy Policy

Use of materials on all pages on the domains Joyofbaking.com, joyofbaking.mobi, the Joyofbaking.com Facebook Page, @joyofbaking on Twitter, the Joyofbaking.com RSS Feed, the Joyofbaking.com email list the Joyofbaking1 YouTube Channel and any emails sent from @joyofbaking.com are entirely at the risk of the user and their owner, iFood Media LLC will not be responsible for any damages directly or indirectly resulting from the use.

References cited may include a link to purchase the referenced book or item on Amazon.com. Joyofbaking.com receives a commission on any purchases resulting from these links.

This website and the contents are not endorsed or sponsored by the owner of the "Joy of Cooking" series of books or its publisher Simon & Schuster, Inc. and is not related to the  "Joy the Baker" books and website. Video icons by Asher.

Content in any form may not be copied or used without written permission of Stephanie Jaworski, Joyofbaking.com.  Students and non profit educators may use content without permission with proper credit. 

A baking resource on the Internet since 1997

Copyright  1997 to 2023 iFood Media LLC