Oh how I love muffins, especially as a warm and yummy breakfast treat on cold and rainy winter mornings. I think what I enjoy the most is making the muffins, because I get to experiment with fancy ingredients, or at least what I call fancy :p and then seeing the end result when they’re right out of the oven…..

Ahhh yes! The best feeling ever! I get so excited that I take pictures like the one you see above and tease all my friends by sending it to them. However, some are lucky to actually taste it, and since I love caring for my friends especially with food, I always set aside a hearty portion so all their lovely faces can enjoy what I enjoy 🙂

I mean come on, I can’t eat all of these! Even though the thought has crossed my mind a few times 🙂

Recipe: makes 14

Dry Ingredients:

1 cup brown rice flour
1 cup gluten free oat flour
1 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp gluten/aluminum free baking powder
1.5 tsp cardamom

Wet Ingredients:

3/4 cup organic coconut palm sugar (trust me, you need that amount except you love tasting sour cranberries in your muffin, but never fear! It has a low glycemic index so it won’t spike your insulin levels like the other sweeteners might)

2 organic cage free eggs
1/3 cup organic coconut oil (melted)
1 1/4 cup butternut squash purée
1/2 a cup organic unsweetened almond milk
1 tsp organic/pure vanilla extract
1 cup pecans (chopped)
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries (not dried!)

First, roast butternut squash. Pre-heat oven to 350°F.

Dice and peel a medium sized butternut squash, making sure you scrape out the seeds.

Dice into small cubes and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes.

When ready, purée squash in a food processor or blender and set aside.

Now, pre-heat oven to 400°F.

Mix wet and dry ingredients (except cranberries and pecans) in separate bowls before combining them together. Add cranberries and pecans and mix again, but do not over mix the batter or your muffins will be too tough.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until it passes the toothpick test.

Let them cool for 10 minutes or if you’re in a hurry like me, enjoy and work through the heat on your tongue 😉