Along with crisper weather comes sweaters, coffee mugs, candles, and baking all your favorite Fall-flavored treats. While pumpkin spice is the natural fall favorite, it is not the only flavor profile at hand. Warm banana bread, ginger spice muffins, and fall-inspired apple-spice granola are all great ways to incorporate the flavors of fall into your baking. That being said, we have a new seasonal flavor for you to add into your baked goods: butternut squash. I know what you’re thinking. Isn’t this just another basic, overly-hyped-about, pumpkin recipe? It is well-known that this squash and a typical pie pumpkin have quite a bit in common, but I can assure you that the flavor and texture of these butternut squash muffins are like no pumpkin bread you’ve had before.
You may have seen this vibrant vegetable cooked into soups and pasta dishes, but you are missing out if you’ve never mashed it up and mixed it into something sweet. With a zucchini bread-like consistency and a brighter, softer pumpkin-esque flavor than the typical pumpkin treat, these customizable breakfast muffins are a delicious new way to start your day.
Butternut Squash Muffins
Ingredients
Instructions
Cut the butternut squash lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Place one squash half face down in a microwavable dish and surround it with a tablespoon or two of water. Place another dish over top and zap it in the microwave for 6-8 minutes or until tender.
Preheat your oven to 375° F. Use oil or cupcake liners to prepare your muffin tin.
Allow the squash to cool slightly, then peel or scoop away the skin. Mash it with a fork roughly and allow steam to evaporate while preparing the other ingredients. When it comes to the squash, the general rule of thumb is the stringier, the better. This should give you at least a cup of squash, which means you are free to experiment with that other half. I cut mine up into cubes and tossed it in the oven with olive oil, salt, and pepper for a sweet potato like side dish for dinner.
Mix the flaxseeds with 5 tablespoons of water in a small bowl and allow that to sit for at least 5 minutes. This will give you an egg-like, high fiber add-in to hold your muffins together. If you happen to have eggs laying around, one of them will work too.
While the flax is eggifying, combine the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices in a large mixing bowl, adding as much cinnamon as is necessary to meet your fall flavor standards.
In a separate bowl, combine the melted butter, liquid of choice, sweetener of choice, and flax seeds until it all comes together. Feel free to add extra sweetener for a more dessert-like treat. Maple syrup, brown or sugar, honey, and even a touch of molasses all work wonderfully.
Add one cup of the butternut puree to the wet ingredients and stir. Then, pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix it just until combined. Add in your fall mix-ins to customize your muffins. For something a little heartier, go for walnuts and dried cranberries. For something on the sweet side, try dark chocolate chips or pockets of apple butter.
Scoop the batter into your prepared muffin tin, filling them almost to the top. Feel free to sprinkle any last minute nuts, seeds, fruits, or spices all over before baking them.
Bake the muffins for about 20 minutes, or until they bounce back when you inevitably end up poking them. Try your best to let them cool before digging in.
After removing them from the oven, allow them to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes before digging in. Meanwhile, brew a cup of coffee or find yourself some jam to enjoy with a muffin when it comes fresh out of the oven.
Spread these muffins with apple butter and enjoy them next to a mug of Chai tea on a lazy weekend morning. Smear one with almond butter for a filling snack or grab a butternut squash muffin on your way to an 8am class for a fall-forward energy boost. No matter how you eat them, these butternut squash muffins are sure to give you all the cozy autumn feelings you long for this fall season.