Add a nice extra touch to your Thanksgiving dinner with this Cinnamon Pumpkin Seed Brittle. This recipe takes classic peanut brittle and swaps out the peanuts for pumpkin seeds and adds a touch of cinnamon. The perfect garnish for your pumpkin pie or simply served on its own.
When planning menus for the holiday season, don’t forget the little extra touches and garnishes that make those meals special. The special place settings and serving pieces. The special cranberry sauce or turkey gravy with a little something extra.
Our Thanksgiving menu this year will be roasted turkey, southern cornbread dressing (not stuffing – dressing), roasted carrots with thyme, butter beans, escalloped apples, and rolls.
Along with the main dishes will be a homemade cranberry-orange sauce, a relish tray (pimiento cheese stuffed celery, pickled okra, olives, kosher dills), pumpkin pie, pecan cheesecake pie, and homemade barbecue sauce (it’s a family thing – just trust me).
This Cinnamon Pumpkin Seed Brittle will be one of those special little touches for the pumpkin pie. It’s almost identical to peanut brittle, but made with toasted pumpkin seeds and the addition of cinnamon. It makes a great garnish! Just stand a little shard of it up in the whipped cream swirl you make on top of the slice of pie, and it will really dress up the plate.
Recipe Snapshot: Cinnamon Pumpkin Seed Brittle
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Cooling Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 47 minutes
Servings: 24
Cuisine: American
Cooking Method: Stovetop
Primary Ingredients: Sugar, corn syrup, cinnamon, pumpkin seeds
Skill Level: Intermediate
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WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING …
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“What a perfect Fall flavored brittle!”
— C.S.
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Ingredient Notes
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- Pumpkin Seeds — Look for “roasted pumpkin seeds” or Pepitas at your grocery or online. Many people make their own roasted pumpkin seeds, and if you’d like to use homemade, they work really well in this recipe.
- Light Corn Syrup — I’ve used Karo corn syrup for as long as I can remember and highly recommend it.
- Cinnamon – Choose a flavorful cinnamon like Saigon cinnamon.
- Sugar – You’ll use plain, granulated sugar for the brittle.
The complete ingredient list with detailed measurements is included in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
How to Make Cinnamon Pumpkin Seed Brittle
Prepare the Pan and Gather Ingredients
- To start, lightly butter a 10×15 inch baking sheet. Set it aside for later. In a small bowl, stir the baking soda into the vanilla until dissolved and set it aside. And In another bowl, stir together the pumpkin seeds, salt, and cinnamon. Attach a candy thermometer to the side of a heavy bottomed saucepan.
Cook the Brittle
- In a 4 to 5-quart saucepan over medium heat, use a wooden spoon to stir together the sugar, corn syrup, and butter until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved. Increase the heat slightly and boil the sugar mixture, stirring occasionally, until it turns a deep amber and registers 300-310 °F (hard crack stage) on a candy thermometer. Or use the cold water hard crack test if you know how. It takes approximately 8-12 minutes to reach the hard crack stage.
Pro Tip
Be very careful with the hot caramelized sugar. If you get any on your bare skin, it will burn immediately, and it will hold on for dear life.
From this point on, I just didn’t get any photos of the cooking because, well, do you have any idea what it’s like to cook with one hand and take photos with the other while trying to avoid getting 300-degree hot caramelized sugar on your hands?
- Remove the sugar mixture from the heat and carefully stir in the vanilla-soda mixture and pumpkin seed mixture. The hot mixture will bubble furiously when you add the baking soda and vanilla – that’s normal. Immediately pour the hot mixture into your prepared pan. Evenly spread the mixture to mostly fill the pan.
Cool and Break the Brittle
- Let the brittle cool at room temperature for 30 to 40 minutes. Gently twist the pan to release the brittle then chop or break it into chunks. Store it in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
Recipe Tips
- Caramelizing Sugar: Watch closely. Sugar cooks quickly once it begins to brown, so have your ingredients measured and ready before you start.
- Pumpkin Seeds: I used roasted, salted pumpkin seeds in my brittle, so I reduced the salt to ¼ teaspoon. If you toast your own seeds or buy unsalted ones, use the full ½ teaspoon of salt called for in the recipe.
- Cleaning the pan: It’s always a mess trying to clean the pot after a candy making session! The best way I’ve ever found to do it is to add water to the pan and put it back on the stove. Bring the water to a boil, and it will melt the hardened sugar right off. Clean as a whistle!
More Homemade Candy Recipes
Have a question or thought to share?
If you have a question about the recipe or if you’ve made it and want to share how it turned out, I would truly enjoy hearing from you. Just scroll down to leave a comment or add your star rating.
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Recipe
Cinnamon Pumpkin Seed Brittle
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups roasted pumpkin seeds
- ½ teaspoon salt (reduce to 1/4 teaspoon if using salted pumpkin seeds)
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 ½ cups sugar
- ⅓ cup light corn syrup
- ¼ cup butter cut into chunks (plus more for pan)
Instructions
- Lightly butter a 10×15 inch baking sheet. In a small bowl, stir baking soda into the vanilla to dissolve and set aside. In another bowl, stir together pumpkin seeds, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside. Attach a candy thermometer to the side of a heavy-bottomed saucepan.1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, 1 ½ cups roasted pumpkin seeds, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- In a 4- to 5-quart saucepan over medium heat, use a wooden spoon to stir together sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup butter until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved. Increase heat slightly and boil the sugar mixture, stirring occasionally, until it turns a deep amber and measures 300 to 310 °F (hard crack stage) on a candy thermometer. Approximately 8-12 minutes.2 ½ cups sugar, ⅓ cup light corn syrup, ¼ cup butter
- Remove the sugar mixture from the heat and carefully stir in the vanilla/soda mixture and the pumpkin seed mixture (the candy will bubble up). Immediately pour into the prepared pan. Evenly spread the mixture to fill the pan.
- Let the brittle cool at room temperature for 30 to 40 minutes. Gently twist the pan to release the brittle, then chop or break it into chunks. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
- Reduce the salt to 1/4 teaspoon if using salted pumpkin seeds.
- Store for up to two weeks in an airtight container at room temperature.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is calculated by software based on the ingredients in each recipe. It is an estimate only and is provided for informational purposes. You should consult your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian if precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.
Great job. This looks absolutely irresistible! Perfect brittle for fall. Get a grip Ann. Get a grip.
I’m planning to make this next weekend. Gonna follow your recipe precisely. My kids will go crazy for this!
Thank you for such a fantastic idea and all of your useful tips Lana! Can’t wait to give this a try.
I’d love to hear how it turns out for you, Ann.
Love your site!
Oh my, this looks so good! It would be wonderful to have you be a part of Seasonal Sundays.
– The Tablescaper
I love this recipe!!! Can’t wait to make it. So glad you linked up on my blog party so I could discover it!
This would be good with peacan.
Love this recipe…we grow lots of pumpkins here on our organic farm so finding new ways to make use of them for our customers is great! My husband love brittle so I will give this recipe a shot. Also thank you for adding the tips to the bottom of your post…I too have had a problem with post candy making mess. Wonderful blog, will be coming around often:)
So glad you found the blog and stopped by! And please do visit again.
COOL!!!
any leftovers you wanna send my way ;) haha
What a great brittle idea! Perfect for Thanksgiving.
What a creative idea. Now if I could get caramel icing down to a science I would be a happy camper. Couldn’t help noticing your remarks about sugar cooking fast, I now have a sugar lump caramel frosting. Oh Well.
Amazingly enough, I’m the only one in my family that likes to munch on brittle. It’s good stuff. I usully go for the toffee variety, but pumpkin would be great to have as well. Yum!!
What a perfect Fall flavored brittle!
These looks very delicious. I would love them while watching TV or reading. A good party item too.