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.
— This post was originally published on November 24, 2009. It has been updated with additional information.
Recipe Snapshot
Cuisine: American
Cooking Method: Stovetop
Total Time: 17 Minutes
Servings: 1 batch (about 24 servings)
Primary Ingredient(s): Sugar, corn syrup, cinnamon, pumpkin seeds
Skill Level: Moderate
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING …
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“What a perfect Fall flavored brittle!”
— C.S.
Ingredient Notes
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- Pumpkin Seeds — Look for “toasted hulled 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 great in this recipe.
- Light Corn Syrup — I’ve used the Karo brand for many years 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 293-295 (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 toasted, salted pumpkin seeds in my brittle, so I decreased the amount of salt to ¼ teaspoon. If you toast your own seeds, or purchase the unsalted ones, then use the full ½ teaspoon of salt 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 of there. Clean as a whistle!
More Homemade Candy Recipes
Easy Vintage Haystacks Candy
Classic Homemade Peanut Brittle
Easy 5-Minute Microwave Fudge
Homemade Mounds Bars Candy
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
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Cinnamon Pumpkin Seed Brittle
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups toasted hulled pumpkin seeds
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 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 in vanilla to dissolve and set aside. In another bowl, stir together pumpkin seeds, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, 1 ½ cups toasted hulled 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 butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Increase heat slightly and boil sugar mixture, stirring occasionally, until it turns a deep amber and measures 293-295 (hard crack stage) on a candy thermometer. Approximately 8-12 minutes.2 ½ cups sugar, ⅓ cup light corn syrup, ¼ cup butter
- Remove sugar mixture from heat and carefully stir in vanilla/soda mixture and pumpkin seed mixture (candy will bubble up). Immediately pour into prepared pan. Evenly spread the mixture to fill the pan.
- Let brittle cool at room temperature for 30 to 40 minutes. Gently twist the pan to release brittle then chop or break it into chunks. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
- 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.
I’m Lana Stuart, an award-winning cookbook author, food blogger, and lifelong cook raised deep in Southwest Georgia. I started Lana’s Cooking in 2009 to share the tried-and-true recipes I grew up with. Around here, the food is full of flavor, the traditions run deep, and there’s always room at the table.
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.