I do not have a Trader Joe’s near my house. In fact, it takes well over an hour to get to the nearest Trader Joe’s. This means whenever I’m in an area that has one I make sure to stock up on all of the goodies. I was down in Washington, DC at the beginning of the month and found that our hotel was just 3 blocks from the nearest Trader Joe’s. As soon as we checked in and took our bags up to the room we immediately started walking to the store.
When we entered I was thrilled to see that they had all of their pumpkin products out. They had pumpkin soup, pumpkin cereal, pumpkin biscotti, pumpkin pancake mix, and pumpkin brittle. I could hardly contain my delight as I walked up and down the aisles trying to decide what to buy. My husband went straight to the soda section and picked up a 6 pack of Diet Gingerale. I’ll admit, they have the best gingerale. It actually tastes like ginger!
Back to what I was buying, I ended up picking up a package of the pumpkin brittle, a bag of their specialty popcorn, and of course a Cookie Butter candy bar. I have to get one of those every time I’m in the store. We also loaded up on a few other treats. When we arrived back in the room we dug into the pumpkin spice brittle. It was so good. It tasted as if it was dusted with sea salt and pumpkin spice. The pumpkin seeds were crunchy and really made the brittle awesome.
As soon as we got back home I was determined to make a batch of this myself. I started with the pumpkin spice pumpkin seeds. It took me two tried but I made batch that I really enjoyed. They were sweet, salty, and crunchy. Then I made an easy brittle recipe, tossed in the seeds, and poured it into the pan. Before it could harden I sprinkled it with a light dusting of pumpkin pie spice, sugar, and sea salt.
The brittle turned out great! It wasn’t exactly like Trader Joe’s version but it was pretty close. The brittle was sweet, crunchy, and tasted of sea salt and pumpkin spice. It’s perfect to put on a fall cookie tray or have out for guests in the fall.
- 1 recipe for Pumpkin Spice Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
- ¾ c. water
- ¾ c. light corn syrup
- 1½ c. sugar
- ¾ t. baking soda
- 1 T. vanilla
- 2 T. butter
- 1 t. pumpkin pie spice
- 1 t. sugar
- 1 t. sea salt
- Place a sheet of parchment paper on a large cookie sheet with sides (a jellyroll pan).
- In a medium saucepan combine the water, corn syrup, and sugar. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Once the sugar has dissolved allow the mixture to boil untouched.
- Bring the mixture to a temperature of 275 degrees. Quickly add the pumpkin spice roasted pumpkin seeds and mix well. COntinue stirring until the mixture reaches 300 degrees.
- Remove from heat and add the baking soda, vanilla, and butter. Be careful as the mixture will bubble up. Stir until combined.
- Immediately pour the mixture onto the prepared cookie sheet, and tilt the baking sheet back and forth to get the brittle to move where you want it.
- Quickly sprinkle the top with the pumpkin pie spice, sugar, and sea salt.
- Allow the brittle to cool for 30 minutes. Then bread it into pieces and store in an air tight container for up to 3 weeks.
Laura says
Thanks so much for sharing these recipes. We also live far away from a TJs but love both the seeds and the brittle. We grew plenty of pumpkins this year – can’t wait to make my own.
Sarah says
This is definitely being added to my xmas candy list!
Linda | Brunch with Joy says
Glad you found one on your trip, it’s always a fun trip going to TJ’s. And thanks for sharing with pumpkin seeds. My sister is a fan of brittle and we just had dark chocolate brittles over the weekend. I’m sure this recipe will make her go wild, too!
Suzanne Collier says
I LOVE brittle! And the pumpkin seeds and pumpkin spice make this VERY intriguing. My husband usually makes the brittle around here, but I may just have to surprise him with this one!!