If you are baking a pumpkin to use in a variety of different recipes, do yourself a favor and do not throw away the seeds. They can be used in so many different recipes and they are a perfect Fall snack just on their own. Toasted pumpkin seeds have a beautiful nutty flavor and they are great on salads, you can make pesto with them and so much more. Feel free to experiment with spices to flavor the seeds either savory or sweet.

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

1 medium pumpkin
olive oil
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut your pumpkin in half and remove the seeds and the stringy pulp. Rinse pumpkin seeds under cold water and pick out the pulp and strings. Spread the seeds out over a cookie sheet, all in one layer. Drizzle the pumpkin seeds with a tablespoon or two (depending on how many seeds you have) of olive oil or melted butter. Toss to combine. Sprinkle with kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper and any other spices you may be using. Bake until the seeds begin to brown and get crisp, 10-20 minutes. When browned to your satisfaction, remove from the oven and let the pan cool on a rack. Store in an air-tight container.