Smoked Paprika Pumpkin Seeds

Back in mid October, I bought 2 gorgeously orange pumpkins, with the hopes of carving them for Halloween. While pictures were flying around with all the pumpkins my friends carved the week before, I, sadly, was not able to carve my own this year. As unfortunate as those circumstances were - I had to look on the brighter side --> I had 2 perfect pumpkins with a bunch of seeds inside! Oh the many possibilities!

Smoked paprika has recently become one of my favorite spices and what better way to use it? The deep rich and slightly sweet aromas of smoked paprika mixed with fresh toasted pumpkin seeds. With that in mind, who cares about putting candles in pumpkins to light up portraits of pet dogs, spooky faces and triangle eyes? (Although - I'm not going to lie...the idea of carving pumpkins WHILE snacking on their seeds does sound just a tad bit more fun.) That aside, I got so excited about these seeds, they were still crackling from being pulled out of the oven as I popped them in my mouth and took the pictures.


Seeds from 2 Pumpkins (about 3 cups)
1/2 Tbs Olive Oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp smoked paprika

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F. Rinse the pumpkin seeds from their orange fibers and drain. Mix in the rest of the ingredients and pour out into one single layer on a baking sheet. Place on the top rack and bake for 10-15 minutes. Sprinkle with a little bit more smoked paprika as it comes out of the oven. Taste and add more salt if needed.