I’ve been thinking about butternut squash a lot lately (I know, I need to get out more, seriously). You can roast it, bake it, purée it, turn it into a soup or sauce for pasta, layer it in a gratin, use it in chili or to stuff an enchilada. Clearly, this is one versatile veggie (actually fruit, if we want to be all technical about it). Up to last week, I only thought of it in savory terms. So what a joy to find that it is absolutely amazing in a sweet muffin, particularly these Butternut Squash Crumble ones. After one bite, I predict you’ll be finding yourself thinking a lot about the merits of butternut squash too!

I also predict that you will make many people extremely happy by baking up a batch of these seasonal beauties so here’s how—

You start by roasting a butternut squash and blitzing it into a purée. Just look at that gorgeous hue! Fingers crossed that you make more than enough and can enjoy a few spoonfuls!

To make the muffins, you add a cup of that creamy squash as well as the usual muffin-y ingredients, including a generous amount of chopped pecans which add loads of flavor and crunch.

Finally, you top these guys with loads of easy-to-make cinnamon-spiked butter/sugar/flour crumble. YUM!!

The baking of these will make your house smell amazing!!

The muffins are tender and not overly sweet and would work as a slightly indulgent breakfast treat or with a cup of tea or coffee as an afternoon pick-me-up. And can we talk about that crumble-y topping?!! It’s absolutely addictive!

So take the plunge and rethink everything you ever thought about butternut squash and bake up a batch of these very seasonal muffins this weekend! I promise it’ll be yummy!! Have a great one!!xoxo

Butternut Squash Crumble Muffins

Makes one dozen muffins

You will need a food processor or blender for this.

Prep Time for squash: 1 hour; Prep Time for Muffins: 15 minutes; Prep Time for Topping: 10 minutes; Bake Time for Muffins: 20-22 minutes

Ingredients

For the squash

• 1 medium butternut squash

• Olive oil

• Kosher salt

• ½-¾ cup water

For the crumble

• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into cubes and chilled in the freezer for 15 minutes before using

• 1 ¼ cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

• ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed

• ¾ teaspoon cinnamon

• ¼ teaspoon salt

For the muffins

• Softened butter for greasing muffin tin cups

• 2 ¼ cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

• 1 tablespoon baking powder

• ¾ teaspoon salt

• ¾ teaspoon cinnamon

• 1 cup butternut squash purée

• ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed

• ¾ cup whole or 2% milk

• ⅓ cup canola oil

• 1 large egg, lightly beaten

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 cup finely chopped pecans (you could sub in walnuts or cut these altogether)

The Recipe

1. To make the butternut squash purée: Preheat oven to 375ºF. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut a large butternut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Rub the cut sides with a little bit of oil and sprinkle with a bit of salt. Place the halves cut side down and pour the water onto the sheet. Carefully place the sheet into the oven and bake the squash for 45 minutes-1 hour until a knife easily slides into the rind and through the squash. Turn squash over and let cool. As soon as you can handle it comfortably, scrape the softened squash into the bowl of a food processor or blender and process until you have a smooth purée. Set aside 1 cup of the purée. You will very likely have more squash than you need for this recipe. Store any leftovers in the fridge for a few days—it’s great heated up with a little butter or used as a sandwich spread. Also, you can make the purée a few days before you plan to make the muffins and keep the mixture covered and chilled in the fridge until ready to use.

2. To make the crumble: Add the flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt into the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to mix. Remove the butter from the freezer and scatter the cubes across the mixture. Pulse the machine 8-10 times until the butter is broken into little bits and the mixture is dry and crumbly.

3. Transfer the crumble mixture to a bowl and use your fingers to rub the mixture together until you get small clumps. Chill until ready to use. Again, you will have more than you need for this recipe but that is not a bad thing. Once you use as much as you want for the muffins, place them rest in a freezer-safe bag and store in the freezer for a few months. Use whenever you like to top fruit crisps, other muffins or whatever you like.

4. To make the muffins: Preheat oven to 400ºF. Generously butter the wells and the top of a standard-size 12 cup muffin tin and set aside.

5. Into a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon and set aside.

6. In a separate bowl, mix together the 1 cup of squash purée, brown sugar, milk, oil, egg and vanilla, whisking until well-combined. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour the squash mixture into it. Use a large rubber spatula to gently mix it all together until just a few streaks of flour remain. Fold in the pecans. Try to resist the urge to over mix to keep the crumb from getting too tough.

7. Spoon the mixture evenly into the muffin cups and top each one with a generous amount of the crumble (about 2 tablespoons), gently pressing it into the muffins so that it adheres while baking (now you can freeze the rest of your crumble mixture or use for something else)

8. Bake for 20-22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the muffins are well risen with a nicely browned streusel. Transfer the tin to a wire rack and let the muffins cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes. Then carefully remove and let cool on the rack. Like all muffins, these are best on the day you make them, but still pretty yummy a few days out. Store leftovers well-wrapped at room temperature for a few days.

Enjoy!

Note: Recipe adapted from The Harvest Baker by Ken Haedrich. I tinkered with some of the spices but otherwise stayed pretty true to the recipe.