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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.) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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