Squash (or Pumpkin) Cranberry Muffins

If you’re a regular reader, you know I dabble with a Paleo diet. While I am not a big meat eater, I do like Paleo baking recipes because they don’t include wheat flour or other grains, so they are good for many of my clients who are avoiding these ingredients. Paleo recipes also don’t include white sugar—something we all should avoid!

If you’re looking for a way to get your kids to try squash, below is a recipe I’ve modified–the original recipe is a Pumpkin Cranberry Muffin from the Practical Paleo Cookbook, and it calls for canned pumpkin. I never use canned pumpkin for several reasons. I prefer to not use canned food because of BPA, and canned pumpkin also has no flavor. I prefer to buy pie pumpkins and bake them, which is admittedly more work, but it just tastes so much better! Moreover, I am always cooking winter squash this time of year and I often have leftovers. It can be substituted quite easily.

Ingredients

• 6 eggs
• ¼ cup cooked squash or pumpkin (any winter squash could work, but buttercup is my favorite)Buttercup squash is my pick for this recipe.
• ½ cup butter or (melted coconut oil if you want to be more Paleo)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ¼ cup grade B maple syrup (I cut the maple down a little because my squash was so sweet!)
• ½ cup coconut flour
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice (I didn’t have this so I made my own version with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice)
• ½ cup fresh cranberries

Directions

Whisk the eggs, squash, butter or coconut oil, vanilla extract, and maple syrup together in a large bowl. Sift coconut flour, baking soda, sea salt, and spices together. Gently fold in the cranberries.

Scoop ¼ cup of batter into the muffin tins. I use stainless steel muffin tins and oil the tins. The cookbook recommends lining the muffin tins with natural parchment paper. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes.

Be well,