Adapated from the Oxmoor House
Athena Winter Squash Muffin with Molasses
So, here I was, home again with my daughter, and instead of Hurricane Sandy, it’s Nor’Easter Athena. Snow was falling in huge flakes at the beginning of November!! First I decided that these storms should be named after a man instead of a woman. I did a little research on names and came up with Seth, because according to mythology, he was an ancient evil god of Chaos, storms, and the desert, who slew Osiris. That sounded perfect!
Then, I heard sounds of my daughter who slept all of an hour, got up to go to the bathroom, and never went back to sleep. Great! I had a whole L-O-N-G afternoon to entertain her. First we decided to do a holiday craft project for her grandparents, and then we needed a new storm project. I looked in the fridge and noticed that I had all this hubbard squash in there, so what better thing to make than pumpkin/squash muffins. When I started looking for recipes, I saw some that had added molasses. And, since my latest obsession is with molasses, (see Frankenstorm Chocolate Chip and Molasses Brittle Cookies), this seemed perfect. So, I aptly named the muffins after our storm Athena, a.k.a. Seth.
A Review:
These muffins were super moist, like bread, deep in color from the molasses, not too sweet, and incredibly satisfying. If wanting a bit more flavor, then I’d recommend ratcheting up the amount of spices. However, everyone in the house including storm visitors ate more than one!
Athena/Seth GF Winter Squash Molasses Muffins (DF, SF)
Servings:
1 dozen large or 40 mini-muffins
1 dozen large or 40 mini-muffins
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened – I used Earth’s Balance
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 large egg
2 cups (1 can) of cooked squash or canned squash/pumpkin
1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
1 3/4 cups GF flour = 218.75 grams or 7.72 oz
1 tablespoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinammon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
*1/4 cup chopped nuts (optional)
Preparation:
If needing to roast squash ahead of time, see blog post on Hubbard Soup for roasting instructions in #1 & 2 of instructions.
1. Beat butter at medium speed of an electric mixer until creamy, but you can use a whisk if your butter is room temperature.
2. Slowly add brown sugar, beating/stirring well.
3. Add egg, beating/stirring well.
4. Add squash and molasses, beating/stirring well.
5. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and spice. Whisk together to make sure they’re incorporated.
5. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and spice. Whisk together to make sure they’re incorporated.
6. Slowly add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture (beating at medium-low just until blended).
7. Stir in nuts.
8. Spoon into greased muffin pans, filling three-fourths full.
9. Bake at 375° for 20 minutes and remove.
Fresh Out of the Oven
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