Halloween: Mocha Pumpkin Seed Trail Mix

Hi y’all!

Before we start, we just wanted to say that we are both sending lots of thoughts and prayers to all our readers and their friends, family and loved ones who are currently without power, flooded or snowed in following Hurricane Sandy. We know a lot of our readers live in the areas affected by the storm. We have been following the news since Sunday and thinking about you all. Please keep staying safe and looking after each other.

But, that being said, it just so happens to be both Halloween and Phil and my 8 years anniversary, which sounds like a pretty good excuse to engage in an evening of tasty snacking! So we thought we would stop by and share a super quick but yummy recipe with you tonight: Mocha Pumpkin Seed Trail Mix!  Perfect for curling up under a duvet and watching a scary movie with your bestie! (Actually, if your anything like me, you’ll spend most of the film behind a pillow, with your eyes closed, your fingers in your ears singing a happy song ….. I’m a total scaredy cat when it comes to horror films!)

Phil and I have only really discovered roasted pumpkin seeds this fall. We can’t believe all this time we have been eating and carving pumpkin and just throwing them in the trash! But  we are total converts and now we can’t get enough of toasting them and trying out new sweet and savory flavor combos. We even tested some on Phil’s family who were around over the weekend and they were a hit! So, tonight we thought we would share out latest flavor combo’s which also just so happens to be our favorite so far: Mocha! They go perfectly in a naughty chocolaty trail mix as they add just the right amount of coffee crunchy goodness.

So, here is the recipe! Its super quick! Seriously ….. by the time your pumpkins are carved your snack is ready to go.

Mocha Pumpkin Seed Trail Mix

Ingredients

For the seeds:

1 cup pumpkin seeds

1 egg white

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

1 teaspoon cocoa powder

1 teaspoon espresso powder

For the trail mix: (these are just our favorites  you could totally mix it up and add any sweet or salty trail mix ingredients you fancied!)

1 cup brazil nuts, 

1 cup pecan nuts

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup raisins (we like the big juicy flame raisins)

1 cup chocolate buttons

1) Scoop – first of all, chop your pumpkin and scoop out all the seeds and pulp, then separate the seeds from the pulp.

2) Wash – next give your seeds a quick rinse to remove any remaining bits of pulp ….. hint: pumpkin seeds float, so when you wash them, pop them in a colander and then don’t run the water too fast otherwise they all float off and down the drain (I learned that lesson the hard way).

3) Whisk – In a separate bowl whisk together your egg white, sugar, coffee and cocoa powder into a thick wet mix.

4) Toss and Spread  – Toss your pumpkin seeds in the mix so that they all get a thick coating of the egg mixture. Then spread them out on a baking sheet or in a cast iron pan which you have lightly greased (we just Pam sprayed ours which works really well).

5) Bake –  Pop the seeds in a 150 °C (300 F) oven for 35 – 45 minutes, taking them out to lightly toss them half  way through the cooking time.

6) Mix –  Chop the nuts for your trail mix if your using them, and weight out your other trail mix ingredients, and then simply toss them together with the pumpkin seeds.

There you have it. Easy as pie ….. actually its even easier than pie!  Phil and I have a bowl of trail mix sat between us as we are sat on the sofa writing this, and it is rapidly disappearing! The house smells like candles and slightly cooking squash from our Jack-o-Lanterns (or Jack-o-Butternut squash if your Phil, it’s a tradition, he always carves a squash!)

Happy Halloween to all of you! We decided to properly celebrate our anniversary over the weekend. This year is Phil’s pick so we are off to see Skyfall (I have to admit, I’m actually pretty excited myself!) We’ll let you know what we think.