I was at the farmer’s market the other day and butternut squash was on sale for $.75/lb! I purchased a few and they’ve been sitting on my counter top just waiting to be used.
I’ve had my eye on a butternut squash cheese and beer soup I saw someone make the other day that looked divine.
I’ve also been wanting to whip up a batch of my roasted garlic mashed squash that is tdf!
And I’ve been craving muffins like crazy, so…butternut squash muffins? Why not!
These muffins are moist and crumbly, with a bit of spice from the ginger, a warm, caramel flavor from the roasted squash and honey, and a crispy top from the toasted almonds. If you don’t feel like roasting a squash, consider purchasing the steam-in-bag butternut squash (usually in the frozen section or in the produce section of Trader Joe’s!). Just make sure you use a paper towel to pat down steam-able squash, as they can be quite watery- which may affect how your muffins turn out. 
- 1 cup roasted butternut squash *see below for directions
- 1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp. honey or pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt
- 1 cup + 1 tbsp. oat flour (finely ground oats if you can't find the flour)
- 1/2 cup unsalted sliced almonds
- Roast the butternut squash (Peel, remove seeds and chunk squash into 1-inch cubes. Place onto a greased pan (a bit of butter or spray will do) and roast at 400 for 25-30 minutes or until soft). When cooled, mash by hand or in a food processor until smooth. Reduce oven heat to 350.
- In a bowl combine flour, seasonings, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
- In a separate bowl, combine squash, eggs, applesauce, honey and vanilla extract in a bowl and beat until smooth.
- Carefully add the dry mixture to the wet mixture 1/2 cup at a time. Mix until just combined.
- Pour batter 3/4 the way into a greased cupcake tin (avoid using cupcake liners here- they aren't necessary), then sprinkle the top of each muffin with a few sliced almonds.
- Bake at 350 for 16 minutes, remove from oven to cool and rest. Enjoy!
- You can easily sub pecans for the almonds, or maybe even add a few golden raisins to the batter for some texture!
