Squash
Biscuits, Bread, Rolls, Muffins, Cakes

New Englanders were introduced to squash by the Native Americans. The squash referred to is any of the orange flesh, hard shelled, long lasting, winter squash varieties. Some names are Crooked Neck, Hubbard, and Butternut. Long used as a vegetable and in pies. In 1880 in Miss Parloa’s New Cook Book (Boston) she published a recipe for Squash Biscuits raised with yeast. These yeast raised biscuits continued to show up until 1950. They have various names such as New England Squash Cakes, Squash Rolls, and Berwick Squash Bread (loaves of bread instead of rolls).

In the book Secrets of New England Cooking published in 1947 is “Pearl Lake Squash Muffins”. The muffin was raised with baking powder. In Maine Coastal Cooking (1963) there is “Aunt Datie’s Squash Muffins”. This recipe calls for a quarter cup of squash. It seems to have been developed to use up leftover squash. The basic recipe is similar to the Twin Mountain Muffins recipe with a high ratio of baking powder.

Fresh butternut squash is available year round today. Often I have a small amount leftover not enough for another meal. The muffin recipe is great way to use it up. For the yeast raised biscuit, roll or cake it is necessary to plan to steam a squash for the purpose as these recipes call for 1½ to 2 cups of squash.

Squash Muffins

Oven 375 degrees

Blend ingredients in order listed:
3 Tablespoons melted butter
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
½ cup cooked, mashed squash
2/3 cup milk

Sift together:
2 cups flour
5 teaspoons baking powder

Mix dry and moist mixtures together.
Grease muffin pan. Fill to top. Makes a dozen muffins.
Bake 20 to 25 minutes

For a Lighter Version - Make the following changes:

4 tablespoons of butter (increases butter by 1 tablespoon)
1 cup of milk (increases milk by 1.3 cup)

Make 10 large muffins (instead of 12)
Check muffins at 20 minutes

Comments: Made a moist sweet muffin. Recipe is a revised version of the two recipes listed in the text.