Food on Friday: Autumny breakfast muffins

At least in half of the world it is still Friday, thereby making this post appropriate.  I'm laying in bed as we speak, a hot water bottle on my back and a crisp cool autumn breeze coming gently through my open windows.  As you may have noticed, I have been extremely busy (and therefore unable to post) during the last two weeks and I have to admit I desperately need sleep.  I couldn't imagine a better, more comfortable night for it, though! Plus, when I wake up, I know I have these amazing treats and a cup of coffee waiting for me. 

Two things I absolutely adore are Aran Goyoaga of the blog Cannelle et Vanille and Whole Living Magazine. So, when the two joined forces to create hearty breakfast recipes, I was super excited and knew they would be unique and tasty.  These muffins certainly met and went beyond my expectations.  I would serve them at a brunch or on Thanksgiving morning when all you want is something light to help you save room for the turkey that will follow later in the day.  They are moist and fluffy, with a complexity of flavors.  They are also incredibly filling.  And, as Peter said, they taste like fall in your mouth. 

The original recipe for these muffins is gluten free, using rice flour and millet flour instead of traditional baking flour.  Since I couldn't find these two things at my local markets, I used whole grain spelt flour and whole grain wheat flour instead and had an excellent result.   

I am not going to lie to you, these were not the easiest muffins to make.  Steaming the butternut squash takes a lot of extra time.  But, I have to say, they were darn worth it! I suggest making a double batch at a time so that you do less work and get more muffins.  Additionally, the squash that I steamed gave me enough squash for about 4 batches of muffins, so I saved the extra I had in the freezer to use for later batches.  

I wish I could eat these for breakfast every morning between now and Christmas.  They make life feel cozy, sweet, so magically autumny and so beautiful! I hope you enjoy them, too, and have a wonderful weekend.  

Butternut squash, apple and hazelnut muffins ***

from Whole Living

makes 12 muffins

Ingredients 

• 1/2 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and diced (3 cups)

• 3/4 cup superfine brown rice flour

• 1/2 cup millet flour

• 1/2 cup hazelnut flour

• 1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

• 3 large eggs

• 1/2 cup light brown sugar

• 1/4 cup cane sugar

• 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted

• 1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

• 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

• 1 sweet apple, such as Gala, peeled, cored, and grated (1 cup)

• 2 tablespoons chopped hazelnuts

*** I doubled this recipe and then changed one or two things for my muffins.  First, I didn't need them to be gluten free and the ingredients are hard to find here, so I substituted spelt flour for the brown rice flour and regular whole wheat flour for the millet flour.  I also added 1/3 c more squash puree than the recipe called for to make it a bit more moist.  

Directions 

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees and line a muffin pan with 12 baking cups.
2. Steam squash until tender, about 10 minutes, then transfer to a food processor and puree until smooth.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together flours, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and ginger. In another bowl, whisk together eggs, 1/2 cup squash puree, sugars, oil, vanilla, and lemon zest.
4. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients until well incorporated, then fold in apple. Spoon batter into baking cups and sprinkle with hazelnuts.
5. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, about 18 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.