Pumpkin Spiced Nuts

Yes, I have been trying to use up some freshly pureed pumpkin, thus the plethora of pumpkin recipes of late. In fact, it is almost the only thing I have been making. ( besides alliteration, I suppose) Breakfast most mornings, before the workers arrive and take over the house. Good news is, I now have paint on the new walls and ceilings. The chimney is getting repaired, and flooring goes in next week. And the week after that I think. No need to get in a hurry right? This photo, if you look closely, shows out the window, various sections of my roof lying on the ground and on saw horses. Since I have no table in the kitchen, the window was the only flat surface! You can also see our old tractor tire sand box. Yes, my boys are way too big for such play, but I cannot part with it because it belonged to my papa. I'm holding out for grandkids.

Anyway, on one of my shopping adventures to try to stay out of the way of wall texturing last week, I found Pumpkin Spiced nuts at Target. Of course they were full of bad sweeteners, so I decided to venture out on my own. I tried a couple of batches. The second one, of course the one I waited to photograph, came out a little dark. I will be so glad to get a new oven installed. I am not so sure about accuracy these days in my 18 year old oven. The new one is waiting in the garage. Woohoo. The nuts are still great, but then, I am known to prefer my food a little over cooked.

This is a good recipe if you happen to have a smidgen of pumpkin left over from a recipe. When you prepare from fresh, it is not always so easy to portion out like it is in those cans. Try this. I used Z Sweet which left a little of the inherent coolness on the tongue. Interestingly, that sensation was more evident in the walnuts than the almonds in the mixture. Go figure.

Pumpkin Spiced Nuts


2 cups mixed raw nuts
1/4 cup salted nuts (I used sunflower nuts in the second batch, mixed nuts in the first, either is good)
3 Tablespoons walnut oil, or any lightly flavored oil
3 Tablespoons pumpkin puree
1 egg white
1/2 cup erythritol or equivalent sweetener
1 Tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon cinnamon


In a medium bowl, combine all nuts with the oil of choice and pumpkin puree. Stir lightly. To that, add the egg white, again stirring to coat the nuts. In a separate small bowl, combine the sweetener and spices. Pour these over the nuts to coat. Spread nut mixture on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake at 300 degrees for about 20 minutes. Stir 2 or 3 times while baking. The nuts will still seem a little wet, but should crisp up when cool. Watch closely to be sure they don't burn.

The combination of the lightly salted nuts really adds to the flavor. If you choose not to use them, try sprinkling some sea salt over the nuts before baking.

These are great for snacking when you want something crunchy. Just be careful, low calorie, they are not. Do you have as hard a time limiting nuts as I do?