5 Ways to Make Roasted Pumpkin Seeds Taste Like Halloween Candy

I don’t know whether this has something to do with being an adult or is just the result of what my body is used to, but these days I can’t handle eating much candy. This poses a dilemma around Halloween, when the flavors of my childhood are calling to me, but I know how crummy I’ll feel after a candy-coated trip down memory lane.

Enter: these sweet and salty pumpkin seeds, roasted until crispy and then dressed up like all our Halloween favorites. Just think of it as a nutritious snack in a candy costume.

Start by roasting your pumpkin seeds with oil and a sprinkle of salt. Once fully cooled, select your favorite candy coating from this lineup and go to town. If you use 1 teaspoon for 3/4 cup of seeds, the toppings will stick just fine without any help.

You can also use store-bought roasted pumpkin seeds, but taste them first — you may need to rinse off the salt, as the sodium level may overwhelm the toppings. Also, toss them in a splash of oil so the add-ins stick as they would on home-roasted pumpkin seeds.

Cocoa Powder + Malted Milk Powder – Toss half the seeds in a mixture of equal parts cocoa powder and powdered sugar and the other half in plain malted milk powder. Alternately, skip the cocoa powder and toss all the seeds in chocolate malted milk powder (cut with powdered sugar for a sweeter result).

Cocoa Powder + Caramelized Pumpkin Seeds + Peanuts – Toss half the seeds in a mixture of equal parts cocoa powder and powdered sugar. For the second half, replace the popcorn in this caramel popcorn recipe with pumpkin seeds. Once cooled, mix the cocoa and caramel seeds with peanuts.

Melted Candy Corn + Melted White Chocolate – A coating of melted candy corn and yellow-dyed white chocolate give the color (and flavor) of this classic Halloween candy. Gently melt candy corn over low heat and, while still warm, move to a piping bag with a small round tip (or plastic bag with one small corner snipped off); drizzle over roasted pumpkin seeds. Melt white chocolate in a double boiler, stir in yellow food dye, and pipe onto the seeds as you did the melted candy corn. Fully cool before serving.

Cocoa Powder + Graham Crackers – Toss half the pumpkin seeds in a mixture of equal parts cocoa powder and powdered sugar. Toss the second half in finely crushed graham crackers.

Cocoa Powder + Powdered Peanut Butter – Toss half the pumpkin seeds in a mixture of equal parts cocoa powder and powdered sugar. Toss the second half in a mixture of equal parts powdered peanut butter (like PB2) and powdered sugar.