Pumpkin-Seed Candy

Name: Pumpkin-Seed Candy
Yield: Makes 30 pieces
Ingredients: 1 cup hulled pepitas; 1/4 cup sugar; 2/3 cup good quality honey; 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, plus 2 tablespoons melted for brushing

These wrapped candies are perfect treats for celebrating Halloween.

Source: Martha Stewart Living, October 1997

Makes 30 pieces

Yield

Ingredients

1 cup hulled pepitas
1/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup good quality honey
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, plus 2 tablespoons melted for brushing

Directions

1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pepitas; toast, stirring constantly until seeds pop and become slightly golden, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool.
2. Place sugar and honey in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar, about 3 minutes. Add pepitas, and continue cooking until temperature registers 285 degrees on a candy thermometer, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in cold butter.
3. Let the mixture cool to 240 degrees, about 4 minutes. Meanwhile, brush the inside of fifteen 1-inch-diameter black paper cups with melted butter, reserving 1 tablespoon. Spoon a scant tablespoon of the honey mixture into each cup. Brush a clean work surface with the remaining butter, and spoon the remaining honey mixture on it so mixture will continue to cool.
4. When remaining candy is stiff and cool enough to handle, about 6 minutes, cut into 3/4-inch pieces with a greased knife. Put one piece of candy in center of each of fifteen 4-by-4-inch pieces of orange cellophane wrap, gather cellophane at the top, and secure with a twist of a 4 1/2-inch piece of floral wire. Wrap the ends of floral wire around a skewer to form tendrils.

Cook's Notes

Pepitas, or pumpkin seeds, are available hulled or unhulled at health-food stores. Paper candy cups are available at baking supply stores.

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Reviews

How would you rate this recipe?

AnneDwyer

2 NOV, 2008

You can but pumpkin seeds, i.e. pepitas, already hulled. Even at SuperTarget.
Reply
famerebel

2 NOV, 2008

hehe yeah. martha! girl! who wants to hull a bunch of pumpkin seeds!?
Reply
white30083

1 NOV, 2008

I also season with chili powder, curry, salt and garlic. My husband even liked them. I baked them at 350 until I could smell them baking.
Reply
mykele

1 NOV, 2008

I thought this was supposed to be COOKIE of THE DAY...... lately we seem to be getting candy of the day, I should spend my days dehusking pumpkin seeds!!!?? Too labor intensive for this baker.l
Reply
NorineF

1 NOV, 2008

Corn syrup does not crystalize easily; it is why it is used in soft candies. Corn syrup also has a more intense (sickening) sweetness to it. Corn sugar (fructose) is the most difficult of all sugars to digest. You could make these with other sugars AND you have to know at what point they cook enough water out to crystalize.to give you the right end product. Have fun experimenting!
Reply
docsloki

1 NOV, 2008

Hulled pumpkin seeds have the white outside bit removed. Generally the hulled seeds look green. If you use your own pumpkin seeds you'll spend a bunch of time opening each seed and removing the white but yes, you can use them.
Reply
SueWho1946

1 NOV, 2008

I have a maple syrup farm and wrote a maple syrup cookbook so I always use maple syrup. Cat K may not have boiled the syrup long enough. I took it to 260, let it cool to 210 and then stirred it until it formed crystals and it worked well...and I did use my own pumpkin seeds from my own jack-o-lantern dried in the oven overnight over the pilot light. The candy was good, but more from the maple than the pumpkin seeds.
Reply
chefAbbi

20 SEP, 2008

Actually, i think you could replace honey by corn syrup but i'm not sure... Hull: The dry outer covering of a fruit, seed, or nut; a husk. So hulled mean that the hull of the seeds have been removed, hope i helped!
Reply
Pledge_Nico

20 SEP, 2008

Could you use fresh pumpkin seeds from your own pumpkin? I'm not sure what hulled and unhulled means.
Reply
Cat_K

20 SEP, 2008

I don't think that there's a substitute for honey in this recipie. I tried it with maple syrup and the candy was gooey, not good. And as molasses isn't as sweet as honey, it would throw off the balence to this recipie; so don't go with it. Stick with the honey. These totally rock by the way. I added cinamon to some too, and it just made them better.
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