Sundays to me are a perfect baking day. You get a baked treat for one of your meals or snacks, and you have leftovers for the rest of the week. There’s nothing like waking up on a dreary & rainy Monday morning and having homemade muffins waiting for you.
These are savoury muffins, and a great reason to use some roasted kabocha squash (my favourite, and the sweetest of squash). Because the squash is bright orange, it will tint your muffins a lovely yellow-orange colour. I paired the squash with some old cheddar, dried chilis, and garlic. YUM.
These delicious muffins are bonus-healthy with a protein boost from the Greek yogurt, a fibre boost from the whole wheat flour, squash, and flax seeds, and they just taste so darned good.
They are also a great excuse to try out lovely holiday prezzies from friends. The lovely Ash got me the cutest-ever measuring spoons (how did she know I needed a set?!) and a Baking Notes magnetic notepad from Knock Knock. Awesome, and just the ticket for making new muffins.
I think I’ll be topping all of my muffins with nuts or seeds from now on. The crunch is delightful, and look how pretty they are!
I think they’d be great alongside chili (like you would serve cornbreaad), and I know they are great on their own for a quick savoury breakfast.
Kabocha Squash & Cheddar Muffins
Makes 12 muffins
- 1 c. whole wheat flour
- 1 c. cornmeal
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. flax seeds, ground
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 1/2 tsp. aleppo chili pepper flakes or dried red chili flakes
- 1 c. roasted kabocha squash, mashed (see How to Roast Squash)
- 1 c. Greek yogurt
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3/4 c. milk (almond, skim…)
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1/2 c. old cheddar cheese, grated
- 1/4 c. pumpkin seeds
Preheat oven to 350F.
Grease your muffin tin with olive or coconut oil.
In a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients (flour, cornmeal, baking soda & powder, flax, salt and chili flakes) with a whisk.
In a separate bowl, combine squash, yogurt, garlic, milk, and olive oil. Add the squash mixture to the dry ingredients, and mix with a spatula to combine. Gently fold in the cheese.
Evenly distribute the batter amongst the 12 muffin cups and sprinkle the tops with the pumpkin seeds.
Bake at 350F for 45-50 minutes, until the tops are golden brown, and a knife or toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Let the muffins cool in the tin for at least 5 minutes. Then remove them to a cooling rack to cool. Refrigerate or freeze any you don’t eat immediately.
Serve plain, à la Boyfriend (with a bit of salted butter), or à la Linz (with a bit of stinky blue cheese – Shropshire blue is delightful here).
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