I went to go visit my friends who just had a baby yesterday. As I always do when I visit friends with a newborn, I bring something to eat. Even if friends with newborns say they need nothing, don’t take their word for it. Having 3 kids myself, I know how nice it is to not have to think about food when all I want to do is cuddle with my baby, or how nice it is to get a little unexpected treat from a loving friend. So for them, I created these butternut squash muffins. I originally intended to make these with pumpkin but had some butternut that I needed to use. I have been making a version of these muffins for years. I love them as they are light and fluffy. I started making these with carrots instead of the squash and would bring them to my daughter’s preschool when it was my day to provide snack. They were always a hit. As usual, I made a big batch so I could freeze some to have on hand for weeks to come.
Ingredients:
- 3 cups flour (I mixed spelt and buckwheat)
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp cardamom
- 1/2 cup apple sauce
- 1/3 cup coconut oil
- 1 cup water
- 1 1/2 cups shredded butternut squash
- 3/4 cups maple syrup
- zest of 1 orange
- 3/4 cups chocolate chips ( I normally use raisins, but I felt like being a little decadent here)
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 350 F
- in a large bowl mix all the dry ingredients
- in a blender blend all other ingredients just enough so everything is well mixed
- combine both, add chocolate chips, mix
- grease some muffin tins
- fill them up
- bake 10-12 minutes for mini muffins, about 20 minutes for bigger ones
- let cool on a rack before devouring (Just so you don’t burn your mouth)
Pamplemousse 
Do you think I could use normal pumpkin if I don t have the butternut kind ? Thanks
Absolutely! Thats what i originally intended to use but had some butternut that needed to be eaten first.
Oh wow Aurore !! Delicious ! I made them yesterday for my mother’s group. 6 moms and 6 babies 🙂 everybody loved them ! Fantastic recipe. I used chocolate as well 🙂 (just chopped some dark chocolate I had).
I love your zucchini muffin recipe and this one ! Will have to try with carrots next time. Thanks a lot !
So happy you made them and liked them! Thank you for trying my recipe and for the feedback 🙂
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Hi – Thanks for the great recipe! My friend made these muffins and brought them to my house, and I loved them! A couple questions:
1. If I don’t have cardamom, will that affect the flavor dramatically? I do have nutmeg, cinnamon and maple syrup.
2. When you say shredded butternut squash, does that mean I need to roast or steam the squash first, shred it, and then add it to the recipe?
3. My friend added zucchini to the recipe and it was delicious. Do you think I can use zucchini and carrots instead of squash?
Thanks for your time!
I am so happy you liked them! My answers:1. Cardamom does add a nice touch but it won’t be too drastic of a flavor difference if you don’t have it. 2. Raw shredded butternut is all you need to do! The shreds cook in the muffins and add moisture. 3. Zucchini and carrots are great substitutes! Keep in mind that zucchini a have a higher water content so I would out a little less zucchini than I would carrots or squash. I have a zucchini muffin recipe on my blog I believe, that you can check out. I hope you have fun creating your own version of these!!
Thank you!! Love the look of your zucchini banana muffin recipe….Thinking of adding bananas to this one (with carrots and zucchini instead of butternut squash) since I have a couple good ripe ones at home. Any suggestions about how the bananas would affect the recipe? Thank you for your suggestion about zucchini given the higher water content!
The bananas would be delicious!!