These acorn squash muffins are a healthier way to start off 2016. With no butter or oil, these acorn squash millet muffins contain a fantastic crunch!
You knew another muffin recipe was coming, right? With over 50 muffins featured on this blog, there’s always room for another!
My college roommate made these muffins when I visited her for our joint birthday celebration last fall. I loved the fact that they contained toasted millet, which provided a nice crunchy texture to the soft and flavorful muffins.
The original recipe called for pumpkin, but I substituted with acorn squash puree since I had a freshly made batch available. You can absolutely use pumpkin instead if you don’t have an acorn squash on hand. You can buy millet by the bulk bins in many grocery stores (I found mine at Whole Foods).
I made these twice in two weeks and added raisins to the second batch. I imagine they would be great with sweetened dried cranberries or even chocolate chips. Addie and I both couldn’t get enough of these muffins, and it was something we ate for breakfast or as an afternoon snack. I froze some of the muffins prior to the holiday break and they easily thawed out on the countertop and tasted wonderful the next morning.
Enjoy!
Acorn squash (or pumpkin) millet muffins
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup millet
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup milk of choice
- 4 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
- 1 cup acorn squash or pumpkin purée
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Generously grease a standard muffin pan (you might need two).
- In a nonstick skillet, toast the millet on medium heat until it starts to pop, about 3-4 minutes. Turn the stove off and allow the millet to cool.
- In a large bowl, mix together the egg, yogurt, milk, applesauce, acorn squash puree, and sugars.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Add in the toasted millet and mix well.
- Add the dry ingredients to the large bowl with the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined - do not over mix.
- Evenly distribute the batter to your prepared muffin pan, filling each well about 3/4 full.
- Bake in your preheated oven for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool before serving.