My mom told us that her mom used to roast pumpkin seed for them when she was a kid so she has been doing it for us since we were little. I love the taste so much, I've taken over roasting them every time we carve pumpkins now. I found a recipe at Wanda's Halloween Cookbook for making spicy pumpkin seeds and they taste very good, too!

ROASTED PUMPKIN SEEDS

Preparation
Find a nice pumpkin, either at the grocery store or at a pumpkin farm. Fresh is always best but some places, like the Nevada desert, are short on pumpkin farms.

Now, cut the top open and gut that pumpkin!

Some people prefer not to wash the seeds before baking because they think it removes all the natural flavor. They, instead, remove the seeds from the strings and place a single layer on a cookie sheet. Some people prefer to wash them and think they taste just as good. It's up to you, personally, I don't like all that pumpkin goo on my seeds. Try and make an even layer, the less they lay on each other, the better they can bake.

Lightly salt to taste and bake at 250° until dry, stirring occasionally. I bake mine for about 15 to 30 minutes or until the start to turn a very light gold.

SWEET SPICY PUMPKIN SEEDS

You can also spice them up by mixing 5 tablespoons sugar ,1/4 teaspoon coarse salt, 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, Pinch cayenne pepper and 1 1/2 tablespoons peanut oil. Prepare seeds as above but line the cookie sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl combine 3 tablespoons of the sugar and the salt, cumin, cinnamon, ginger, and cayenne.

Heat peanut oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add pumpkin seeds (after baked) and 2 tablespoons sugar. Cook until sugar melts and the pumpkin seeds begin to caramelize, about 45 to 60 seconds. Transfer to bowl with spices and stir well to coat. Let cool.

Storage & Serving
I love to set bowls of these around for parties, so they never last long but you can store them in an airtight container for up to 1 week.