Monday, September 29, 2014






My daughter was born on (Canadian) Thanksgiving, so the main focus during this holiday is her birthday and organizing her parties ever since. My Thanksgiving became the time to relax after the party planning and worrying how her birthday cake will turn out. Thanksgiving also became a family pot luck, as there are usually birthday leftovers, and my parents would bring food to add on, and my brother and his girls would come to our place and join in the celebration. 

I thought of how laborious and elaborate, much like Christmas, this holiday could be, especially with the turkey (which I have yet to attempt), trimmings, pies and cakes that translate into thankfulness and giving. But as we could see beauty in abundance, we could also see the loveliness in simplicity.

How lovely, I thought, to just serve coffee with some Pumpkin Seed Brittle after a Thanksgiving meal?

Or, how gloriously elaborate, I thought, to top a slice of Pumpkin Pie or Pumpkin Custard with a triangle of this wonderfully sweet brittle?

THANKS for GIVING me the idea, Monday Morning Cooking Club.


Thanksgiving Pumpkin Seed Brittle

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp sea salt
3/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds (or a mix of pumpkin and sunflower)

Things needed: parchment paper, rolling pin, heavy-bottomed saucepan, wooden spoon and a candy thermometer.


Tear off and set aside two large sheets of parchment paper and ready rolling pin near a work surface or wooden cutting board.



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Place the sugar, water and salt in the saucepan on medium heat and stir to dissolve the sugar. Set the candy thermometer in the liquid and without stirring, cook the syrup until it reaches 116°C/240°F. Take the saucepan off heat and immediately stir in the raw seeds with a wooden spoon. Stir until the mixture becomes grainy and crystallizes (about 3 minutes). Return the pan on medium heat and stir constantly for about 8-10 minutes, until the dry, crystallized sugar melts again and becomes a caramel colour. With care, pour this mixture on top of a parchment paper and cover with the second parchment.



© 2014 jordanabananabakes.blogspot.ca 



Working quickly, use the rolling pin and roll out the brittle into a thin layer. Peel the top sheet of parchment and let brittle cool completely (about 30 minutes to 1 hour).



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Once cool, cut or break brittle into large pieces. Store in an airtight container for two weeks, separating the pieces with parchment paper to keep from sticking.



© 2014 jordanabananabakes.blogspot.ca 


Serve with coffee or use to decorate pies, custards or crumble and use as ice cream topping.


© 2014 jordanabananabakes.blogspot.ca 

Recipe by Lisa Goldberg straight from Monday Morning Cooking Club cookbook 2013.
What are you thankful for?
© 2014