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)