Cocoa Roasted Pepitas (Pumpkin Seeds)

Makes 1 cup (Recipe can be doubled)

Recipe from deliciousasitlooks.com

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

I recently purchased some packaged cocoa roasted pumpkin seeds and they tasted terrific.  However, they were expensive (even on sale) and I didn’t wish to deal with more packaged food than necessary.  I found several recipes for cocoa roasted pumpkin seeds and this is the first one I tried.  We thought they were yummy and “blog worthy.”  I plan to try a couple of more recipes and will post them if they are as delicious as these are.  Roasted pumpkin seeds make a terrific snack or an addition to your lunchbox.

1 cup raw, hulled pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

1 Tablespoon water

1 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons granulated cane sugar (I used Sucanat.)

½ teaspoon vanilla

Pinch of Kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 300 F.  Line a cookie sheet or sheet pan with parchment paper.  Spread the pepitas out on the cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes.  Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over low heat, mix together the water, cocoa, sugar, vanilla and salt.  Stir just until thee sugar dissolves and the mixture is smooth.  Remove from heat and set aside.  Remove the pepitas from the oven and stir them into the coca mixture until well coated.  Spread the seeds out again on the parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake for another 10-15 minutes, until almost dried out.  The seeds will finish drying as they cool.  They may pop and crackle as they cool.  Store in an airtight container.

A ripe banana with 1/4 cup of
Cocoa Roasted Pumpkin Seeds makes a very satisfying snack!