Pumpkin Seed Toffee

by LEON BOUTEILLER

Pumpkins and mums are everywhere! The mums are a beautiful addition to autumn scenes but it’s the pumpkins and winter squashes that interest me. There are more, different types of pumpkins and squashes available every year. Many are ones I’ve never seen before. Connecticut Field, Howden and sugar pumpkins, staples of the past, are now only part of the amazing displays. Colorful varieties and many shapes of pumpkins and squashes decorate front steps and entryways of many homes. Gourds are plentiful but most are inedible and some are poisonous, containing high levels of cucurbitacins which irritate the gastrointestinal tract. They do make colorful additions to displays.

Pumpkins and a variety of squashes are a staple in the diets of many cultures around the world. Different countries and regions favor different types because of tradition and growing conditions. Here in the US and Canada much of the contemporary pumpkin crop is used for decoration. In the early 1900’s they were more a part of the diet. The ripe pumpkin is emblematic of the harvest season and one of the oldest known domesticated plants. One of the earliest crops to be grown deliberately by the early inhabitants of the Americas nearly 8,000 years ago!

The first pie I learned to make was pumpkin pie. One of the extras while carving Jack-o-lanterns are the pumpkin seeds. We would clean and wash the seeds, toast them then remove the shell from the inner tasty treat. An arduous task but necessary to get to the edible part of the seed. Now I wouldn’t spend the time for the shelled seeds are readily available in the market place and at a reasonable price.

I have a recipe for the upcoming Halloween celebrations. It is not for children to prepare without supervision but is simple to accomplish. All you will need is a candy thermometer or a digital instant-read one with the maximum of at least 300F degrees.

Toffee and brittle are similar and sometimes incorrectly confused. Toffee is full of butter and brittle has little or none. Brittle often has baking soda in the recipe to add some bubbles that make the texture less hard. Toffee often has a chocolate coating that is then dusted with crushed nuts. The pumpkin seeds give the toffee a taste of autumn.

PUMPKIN SEED TOFFEE

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups unsalted butter

  • 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons natural sugar

  • 1 tablespoon toasted pumpkin seed oil, or butternut squash seed oil. If unavailable, omit the oil and 2 tablespoons natural sugar

  • 1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

  • 1 cup toasted pumpkin seeds, chopped

Method:

  • Combine the butter, sugar, salt and oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan large enough to accommodate triple the volume of uncooked ingredients

  • Over medium heat, stir gently until the butter is melted and fully incorporated. Bring to a boil

  • Line a sided cookie sheet or ½ sheet pan with a silicone pad or parchment paper leaving an overhang

  • Cook until it reaches 285F degrees, stirring two or three times only. This should take 20 to 25 minutes

  • Pour the toffee over the pan, it will settle out on its own

  • Sprinkle the chocolate chips around the toffee and when it has melted after a minute or two, spread the chocolate to an even, thin layer

  • Immediately shower the chopped pumpkin seeds over the chocolate

  • Let cool in the pan for a few minutes and then cool in the refrigerator for an hour or so

  • Lift the toffee out of the pan and break it up into desired sized pieces

This is the real thing and it is hard to eat just one or two pieces! A great treat for Halloween, a great gift or an item for a bake sale or family gathering.

Enjoy!

Leon G Bouteiller was born and raised in Northwest Connecticut. He has held several jobs as chef in the community. He is now retired and living in Cornwall with his wife Patrice and a love of the outdoors. They are joined by their pets, a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog named Banjo and two rescue cats called Ricky and Lucy.

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