Chef John’s Pumpkin Seed Brittle

  4.9 – 8 reviews  • Brittle

This recipe makes wonderful individual chicken pot pies that the whole family will enjoy making and eating.

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 10 mins
Additional Time: 40 mins
Total Time: 1 hr
Servings: 12
Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients

  1. 2 cups raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
  2. 1 ½ teaspoons coarse sea salt
  3. 2 cups white sugar
  4. ½ cup light corn syrup
  5. 2 tablespoons water
  6. 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
  7. ½ teaspoon baking soda

Instructions

  1. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
  2. Stir pumpkin seeds and sea salt together in a bowl.
  3. Stir sugar, corn syrup, and water together in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Add butter and bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Boil until mixture is dark golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat; whisk in baking soda.
  4. Pour pumpkin seeds into sugar mixture and stir until well-combined. Transfer pumpkin seed mixture to prepared baking sheet. Place another silicone baking mat over the top of the pumpkin seed mixture and press down to make an even surface for the brittle. Let harden for about 30 seconds; remove top baking mat. Score surface with a knife to form desired shapes. Cool to room temperature and break into pieces.
  5. You can substitute about 3/4 teaspoon fine salt for the coarse sea salt.

Nutrition Facts

Calories 258 kcal
Carbohydrate 50 g
Cholesterol 13 mg
Dietary Fiber 0 g
Protein 2 g
Saturated Fat 3 g
Sodium 284 mg
Sugars 37 g
Fat 7 g
Unsaturated Fat 0 g

Reviews

Laurie Mckenzie
I have never made any kind of brittle before. I always bought Williams Sonoma pumpkin brittle in the fall. Now that it is $36.95 a box, I looked for an alternative. I made two batches, because I burned the first one. Take it off the heat before it looks done because adding the baking soda makes it golden. I spread it out on a single sheet of parchment paper sprayed with Pam and skipped the top sheet. I sprinkled it with cinnamon sugar and it is pretty darn close to WS. Next time I will add some vanilla to get more richness.
Sarah Warner
This is the first candy I’ve made and is by far the tastiest brittle I’ve had. I used salted butter, which may have made for an extra buttery/salty flavor but it was great. The only hitch was that my top baking sheet layer got stuck to about 1/3 of the mixture, so I will spray the sheet next time. Otherwise worked great; thanks as always, Chef John!
Richard Watson
I made this for my husband around Halloween. He thought it was great and so did I… it didn’t last long because we couldn’t keep away from it.
Travis Foster
I have made this for 4 years. So easy! Have your ingredients ready though. Very favorite fall treat.
Diane Martinez
You really need to work fast after adding the baking soda! Have everything ready to go ahead of time.
Vanessa Morris
Beware this stuff is addictive. Forgot the baking soda, got distracted by my nephews needs. I turned out well. Very tasty!
Charles Warren
We took this to a church gathering and it was a huge hit! I used the parchment paper on the bottom and top. It stuck to the top, so I will try spraying the candy on top with oil next time. The baking soda does cause it to bubble up quite a bit, so a big pot is better! I found my candy thermometer to be very helpful, especially because I had the burner up too high so it the sugar mixture was done in five minutes.
Tony Hall
This is amazing. Followed the directions and watched the video, everything worked wonderfully. Only problem is you can’t stop eating it. Love all of Chef John’s recipes.

 

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