I absolutely love living in Hawaii, but I must admit, I terribly miss the changing of seasons.  I went to college in Michigan and fall was always my favorite time of year.  I remember looking forward to weekend trips to a local cider mill and apple orchard heading back to school nibbling on apple cinnamon donuts with my friends.  There is something enchanting about fall—the burst of colors, the chill of the mornings and warm comfort foods.

Well, this past week this Hawaii girl got a full taste of fall in Portland, Oregon.  Colorful fall leaves and puddle jumping…its the little things in life that captivate me.  If you follow me on Instagram, you could probably sense the excitement of my spirit experiencing colorful trees and coffee shops that looked like cabins.  The Pacific Northwest was magical in every possible way—it smelled like Christmas everywhere we went, the cappuccinos were plentiful and the food extraordinary.  It poured non-stop and my toes were constantly cold, but the beauty of my surroundings made my heart warm and spirit full.

However much I love to travel, there simply is no place like home.  Traveling always makes me miss cozy mornings and homemade grain free baked goods, so I wanted to share one of my favorite new muffin recipes with you all!

I have been loving butternut squash recently as it is just so colorful and full of rich flavor.  I made some the other day for dinner and then had leftovers so I decided to make muffins with it.  I usually make these delicious soufflé squash pancakes, yes I am a girl of habit and usually just make my favorite foods on repeat, but decided to try something new.  Now, I am horrible at making muffins.  I usually fill the muffin tins too much or too little, or they end up too dry or utterly soggy. Oh and once my dog Libby even ate a half dozen grain free muffins!  But these muffins magically baked and made the kitchen smell of maple and cinnamon!

These muffins are made with a combination of squash and nut flours and sweetened with apples and maple sugar.  They are meant to be a breakfast muffin so not overly sweet.  These fall spiced paleo muffins are a great way to get a serving of vegetables in the form of a sweet muffin.  The muffins are very light and buttery, not like a typical dense regular flour muffin.  Don’t be overwhelmed by the long ingredient list or instructions, just read through the instructions once and I promise it is easy to make!

Paleo Butternut Squash Apple Hazelnut Muffins {Grain Free, Gluten Free}

A sweetly spiced fall breakfast muffin made with a combination of nut flours and fresh butternut squash puree.  

makes 10 muffins

Ingredients

• 1 cup almond flour
• 1/2 cup hazelnut flour
• 3 tbsp + 1 tbsp maple sugar, separated
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp cardamom
• 1 cup butternut squash, mashed or pureed
• 1 apple, grated
• 3 eggs
• 4 tbsp butter, melted
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp lemon juice

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease muffin pan with butter or line with muffin liners. Bring a small amount of water to a boil in a steamer.
• Slice butternut squash in round slices and cut off skins.  Scoop out any insides or seeds of the squash and discard.
• Place squash in the steamer basket and steam for 15-20 minutes or until squash is soft to touch with a fork.
• Remove from steamer to allow any water to drain out so that the squash is not watery.
• While the squash is cooking and cooling, sift together all dry ingredients: flours, 3 tbsp maple sugar, baking soda and spices.
• In a separate bowl, combine all wet ingredients, (eggs, butter, vanilla and lemon) blending with a hand blender.
• Once squash is cool enough to touch, mash on a plate until smooth.  Add a cup of the squash to the bowl with wet ingredients and blend.  Add in the dry ingredients and blend until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl to incorporate all ingredients.  Fold in grated apples.
• Scoop batter into muffin pan, filling 3/4 the way full.  Sprinkle remaining maple sugar on top.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.
• Serve the muffins warm with a slice butter.  Add a side of eggs and bacon for the perfect fall breakfast!

This & That

• You will have leftover butternut squash which you can save in the refrigerator for up to a week. You could add it to squash pancakes or even use to make my pumpkin waffles.
• I like these unbleached muffin liners.
• These grain free & paleo apple hazelnut muffins are meant for breakfast and not very sweet.