Carrie Fehr

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups whole-wheat flour

1/3 cup unbleached flour

1 ½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, ¼ tsp allspice

1 cup butternut squash purée , see below for butternut squash purée (pumpkin purée is a good substitute.)

1/2 cup olive oil or vegetable oil

2/3  cup sugar or maple syrup

½ teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1 tsp sugar and 1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds for topping

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin pan with muffin papers.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice into a mixing bowl.

In a separate bowl beat together butternut squash purée, oil, sugar, maple syrup and salt until well mixed.  Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

Add the flour mixture to the butternut squash and mix until smooth.  Do not over mix. Fill muffin pan three-quarters full.  Sprinkle with sugar and pumpkin seeds topping.

Bake about 25-30 minutes.  Remove from muffin pan and cool.

Butternut Squash Purée

2 pounds butternut squash

1/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Cut the butternut squash into sixths.  Put the butternut squash and water in a roasting pan and cover the pan with aluminum foil.  Bake about 1 hour, it should be soft.  Remove the seeds and skin, and purée in a blender until creamy.