Brown Sugar Spice Pepitas, how I love thee!

Spinach Salad with Brown Sugar Spice Pepitas.  Bowl by Alex Lanham.

My sweet husband, Jack, loves pumpkin seeds (aka pepitas) so when I saw four different ways to spice them in the October 2011 issue of Everyday Food magazine, I knew I would be trying all four!  My favorite is Brown Sugar Spice.  They are excellent for snacking and keep in a zip-loc bag for a couple of weeks (if you don't eat them sooner!).  I served them as an appetizer for Thanksgiving.  They are also wonderful as a garnish for a winter salad of spinach, Romaine or mixed greens with mandarin orange sections, dried cranberries, feta and Honey-Balsamic Vinaigrette (although I substitute agave for the honey in this recipe so technically it's Agave-Balsamic Vinaigrette if you want to get picky). 

I also used them to garnish a baked acorn squash with brown sugar and butter.  Yum!

Brown Sugar Spice Pepitas

Preheat oven to 300.  Combine 2 cups pumpkin seeds (I buy them at Winco in the bulk bins, also available at Trader Joe's), 1 TBS extra-virgin olive oil, 2 TBS dark-brown sugar, 1 1/2 tsp ground allspice, 1 TBS water, 1/2 tsp fine salt and 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper.  Spread in a single layer on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet and toast until seeds are golden and crunchy, about 20 minutes, stirring  halfway through.

Easy, tasty, crunchy!  You can't go wrong!