Butternut Ginger Muffins with Macadamia Nuts

        HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Yet another recipe that involves BUTTERNUT SQUASH or PUMPKIN??  Yes, guilty as charged.  But, you can always use a wonderful muffin, right?  These are not only wonderful, but the best.  Seriously.  Plus they use up some of that extra, cooked squash you have in your fridge, and make a super addition to your New Year's Breakfast.

I did post the recipe for the Queen's Surf Banana Muffins a few years ago, and this is a riff off that.  A superior riff, if I do say so.  There were no bananas, but I wanted to use some roasted butternut squash in my muffins, and thought hey, mashed up squash could easily sub in for those bananas, right??  Add some fresh ginger, nutmeg and cardamom, top everything off with chopped mac nuts and crystallized ginger, and you get a winner, lovely tender crumb and quite delicious.

The old Queen's Surf Waikiki nightclub and restaurant burned down years ago, but I managed to get their secret Banana Muffin recipe.  Wrote it down on a 3x5 card and neglected to note who gave it to me.  Sigh.  But, trust me, the chef won't roll in his grave over this variation.

Butternut Ginger Muffins

Ingredients
Makes 1 dozen
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup coconut oil (should be cool, almost solid), or butter as in the original
1 cup cooked butternut squash or pumpkin, mashed well
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups flour (I used 1 cup white and 1/4 cup spelt)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
2-3 tablespoons crystallized ginger, chopped
2-3 tablespoons macadamia nuts, chopped

Pre-heat oven to 350F.

Mash the squash up well and set aside.  Cream the sugar together with the coconut oil so all the lumps are incorporated.  Add the squash, well beaten eggs and grated ginger.  Sift the dry ingredients together and blend in with the batter.  Don't over-mix.

Pour into a lined or buttered muffin pan, top with the chopped nuts and ginger, and bake at 350F for about 25-30 minutes.  Enjoy!  My contribution to this week's Hearth 'n Soul Blog Hop, hosted by Swathi.