Did you make yourself sick of pumpkin just days before Thanksgiving? Or are you just looking for a change of pace?
Either way, this recipe is a nice change from the usual fall squash.
Butternut squash has a wonderful flavor and color, and I think it is slightly sweeter than pumpkin.
Butternut squash is also good for you! It is low in fat and cholesterol, and packed with vitamins A & C.
I went searching for this recipe back in early October when we were experiencing a bit of a pumpkin shortage.
There wasn’t a single canned pumpkin to be found in all of West Lafayette. Luckily, there was squash. And I was in the mood to try something new.
I hadn’t seen a butternut squash muffin before, but I have heard that sweet squashes (like butternut or acorn) are great for baking.
I’m glad I ventured out of my baked good comfort zone because these were some tasty muffins.
A friend of mine (not a fan of squash) ate one before she knew what it was. She loved ‘em. When she found out it was butternut squash, she said if she had known she probably wouldn’t have eaten any.
Next time I want to make a crumble to go on top…that would take them over the top!
Butternut Squash Muffins
Recipe adapted from Baking and Books
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup water at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups squash puree
- 3 cups flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp cardamom
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp salt
To Make the Squash Puree:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Scrub the squash, then peel.
- Cut in half, remove the seeds and cube the squash.
- Toss with a bit of olive oil and roast until it starts to brown… Sorry, I don’t have a specific time! I would say 20-30 minutes, stirring halfway through.
- Allow to cool then puree in a food processor, blender, or food mill. Set aside until ready to use. – I blended the squash with the water and oil instead of mixing into the batter.
To Make the Muffins:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and grease or line the muffin tins.
- In your stand mixer (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer) beat together the sugars, squash, oil, eggs, and water. If you blended your oil and water with the squash all you need to do is beat together the squash mixture, sugars, and eggs.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg and salt. Gently mix into the squash mixture.
- Scoop batter into muffin tins, only filling about 1/2 way.
- Bake 15-25 minutes — it may take more/less time depending on the size of your muffins. They are done when an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow to cool before serving!
About bigfatbaker
These look great! I’ve been all about making use of my butternut squashes lately – made chips with them the other day (awesome!). Now going to have to go the sweet route and try these muffins =)
Welcome to Squash Love Blog Hop, Erin! I love butternut squash, too!
Welcome E to our blog hop! Your muffins look perfect! Thanks for sharing!
These are in my oven, then right to my belly!
Pretty domed muffins
love ‘em!
Delicious. I love butternut squash in baked goods. I recently made butternut squash muffins myself. SO GOOD!
Replacing main ingredients might be scary, but we’ll never know unless we give it a try. I’m glad you discovered a really tasty butternut muffin recipe, I can’t wait to try this!
What beautiful muffins! I love the flavors you used here ! Thanks for sharing the squash love!
I bet these would be so good dipped in soup!!