Every fall as far back as I can remember, we make pumpkin seeds from all the carved pumpkins we create for Halloween. I always get a little sad because they’re one of my favorite seasonal snacks that I wish we made all year round! Crispy roasted chickpeas might be the best year round fill-in that I’ve found. I am totally a savory/crunchy snacker so anything that fits in those categories is great in my book.

Generally speaking I love sweets. I keep chickpeas stashed in my pantry for this chickpea based cookie dough (it’s so delicious!) but this isn’t what I was craving today.
I’ve been reaching for any savory snack option lately but getting kind of board of plantain chips and seaweed snax. Crispy roasted chickpeas are exactly what I’ve been wanting.

How do you get the chickpeas to be crispy?
The secret to getting chickpeas to turn out crispy every time is to slow roast them in the oven completely DRY. Don’t cheat on this part- the drier the chickpeas, the crispier the outcome.


Crispy Roasted Chickpeas:
- 2 cans of chickpeas, drained and patted dry with paper towels
- olive oil spray
- seasoning blends or salt and pepper
- Preheat oven to 350. Drain and completely dry chickpeas in a colander.
- Dump chickpeas onto a dry baking sheet and bake for 35 minutes.
- Remove from oven and increase temperature to 375. Transfer chickpeas to a bowl.
- Use tinfoil to create three different compartments on your baking sheet. Separate chickpeas into each compartment and spray lightly with olive oil.
- Dust chickpeas with different spices or plain old salt! Stir them around gently to coat.
- Bake at 375 for an additional 10-15 minutes or until fragrant and browned.




One of the fun parts of making these crispy roasted chickpeas is how versatile you can make them! If you are craving a sweet snack try sprinkling them with a tiny bit of cinnamon and sugar or a drizzle of maple syrup and splash of vanilla.
Use some of those spice blends you have stacked in the pantry. My mother in law got me some amazing spice blends from a little local shop in Pittsburgh called Penzey’s and they are so amazing. These two (Singapore and Northwoods) are my two favorites so far. They’re addictingly good and smell amazing!


Now to figure out how not to eat them all at once…
Ha!
Happy Thursday friends.
-J

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