Goody Goody Gumdrops

So, with Halloween around the corner, I thought I'd share my best tip of what we do with the abundance of candy!  We sort it immediately after the initial thrill of Trick-Or-Treating and put the gumdrops and a selection of other small treats aside for making our annual Christmas Gingerbread House.

The big zipper-bag of candy gets hidden in the pantry until the week before Christmas.  Then all we have to add is a few candy-canes to complete our creation.  We like to have the gingerbread house as dessert after our traditional Christmas Eve prime rib dinner.  I plan to post our recipe and directions for the cookie house in early December.  Until then,  Happy Pumpkin Carving and Trick-or-Treating!

TOASTED PUMPKIN SEEDS
Scoop out the seeds from your pumpkin and remove the bigger chunks of pulp.  Rinse in a colander.  Melt a tablespoon or two of butter in a non-stick skillet. Add the seeds and saute for a few minutes, adding a generous sprinkle of Lawry's Seasoned Salt.  Spray or grease a rimmed baking pan. Spread seeds out in a single layer and sprinkle with a little more of the salt.  Bake at 350 degrees until lightly toasted, about 30 minutes.  Loosen from pan with a spatula and allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container. In our house, we just leave them on the warm pan in the oven and they disappear within a day.  Depending on their tenderness, they may be eaten whole or cracked like sunflower seeds to eat just the kernel.