Warm spices, squash, and cranberries are significant flavors during the holidays. We usually have a week of guests during Thanksgiving, so I always make scones, muffins, and cinnamon rolls for our breakfasts. In light of the season, I really wanted to create a muffin recipe using my winter garden squash, warm spices, a sweet crunchy crumble topping, and cranberries for color, freshness, and tartness. I’m happy to share my Holiday Spiced Squash and Cranberry Muffins with Crumble Topping recipe. I don’t think you can go wrong with your holiday breakfast table topped with these muffins. 😊
Squash & Cranberry Muffins: Ingredients
For these tasty holiday muffins, you’ll need all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground nutmeg, winter squash (acorn, delicata, butternut, pumpkin, etc.), eggs, brown sugar, granulated sugar, milk, butter, and fresh cranberries.
Preheat Oven & Prepare Muffin Pan
Preheat the oven to 375˚F (190˚C). Then, line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. This recipe will make 16-20 muffins, so if you have another 12-cup muffin pan, then use those other cups, too. If not, no worries, I only have one, so I just make a second batch using the same muffin pan once the first batch is baked and removed from the pan.
Combine Dry Ingredients
In a large bowl, sift together all the dry ingredients. To a sifter add 240 grams (2 cups) of all-purpose flour, 8 grams (2 teaspoons) of baking powder, 1 g (¼ teaspoon) of baking soda, 3 grams (½ teaspoon) of salt, 6 grams (2 teaspoons) of ground cinnamon, 3 grams (1 teaspoon) of ground ginger, and 1 gram (½ teaspoon) of ground nutmeg. Stir until well combined.
Combine Squash, Sugars, Eggs, & Milk
In a medium bowl, add 1 cup of cooked, roughly mashed squash. Beat separately and add 2 large eggs. Then, add 110 grams (½ cup packed) of brown sugar and 100 grams (½ cup) of granulated sugar. Stir the ingredients well. Pour in 157 milliliters or ⅔ cup milk and stir.
TIP: Keep the squash somewhat in chunks. It’s nice to see bits of squash in the muffins after they’ve baked.
Melt Butter
Melt 87 grams (6 tablespoons) of butter (~30 seconds in microwave) just until melted.
Combine ALL Batter Ingredients
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, pour in squash mixture and melted butter. Stir just until combined; careful not to overmix. Fold in 1 cup of halved cranberries until dispersed throughout the batter.
Make the Sweet Crumble Topping
Time to make the crumble topping. In a small bowl, combine 60 grams (½ cup) of all-purpose flour and 3 grams (1 teaspoon) of ground cinnamon. Add 55 grams (¼ cup packed) of brown sugar and 50 grams (¼ cup) of granulated sugar. Mix well. Melt 58 grams (4 tablespoons) of butter and pour that into the mixture. Use a fork to mix until the mixture crumbles; avoid a cohesive/doughy mixture.
Fill Muffin Cups
Spoon a little less than a ⅓ cup of batter in each muffin cup (⅔–¾ to the top). Add remaining batter to another muffin pan or set batter aside and bake another batch when the first is done.
Distribute Sweet Crumble Topping
Distribute the crumble topping evening over each muffin gently pressing it into the batter.
Baking Time
Bake for 25-30 minutes until brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean (no batter visible).
Squash & Cranberry Muffins Baked
Muffins are done! Let them cool in the pan for about 10 minutes or until they can easily be removed to a wire rack. Then, remove the muffins from the pan. Add new muffin cup liners to the pan, fill with remaining batter and crumble topping, and bake.
Close-Ups of Squash & Cranberry Muffins
Notice how the crumbled topping “melted” into the muffin and the cranberries are visible. When cutting into the muffins, the topping is crunchy and crumbles. The internal muffin consists of bright red cranberries and small bits of yellow squash. The spices add to the warm fall-looking colors embedded throughout the muffin.
Storage Suggestions
You can store these muffins are room temperature for a few days. I prefer to freeze them as soon as they cool and remove them from the freezer and heat in the microwave when ready.
Squash & Cranberry Muffins: Final Thoughts
The flavors, colors, and smells clearly represent the season. The house smells like the holidays; no need for a holiday candle! 😉The cranberries are a beautiful red while the bits of squash add a touch of yellow thus brightening a rather brown muffin. The crumble topping adds texture and crunch. These muffins would be a great addition to your holiday breakfast table. They make a great mid-morning or afternoon snack, too. If you give these a try, I truly hope they are what you expect. We really enjoy them.
Squash & Cranberry Muffins Baker’s Perspective
While the ingredient list looks rather long, the steps are quite simple. The recipe is an easy measure-out and mix-together batter. The squash needs the separate roasting step, but you can always use canned pumpkin for ease. The cranberries should be halved to ensure a full bake, but you could always leave them whole. The crumble requires a little extra step but “Oh, so worth it!”, when you take a bite. Overall, this isn’t a difficult recipe, but it does require a little prep you could do the day before to include roasting the squash and halving the cranberries.
Squash & Cranberry Muffins Taster’s Perspective
The muffins turned out exactly as I imagined them when I envisioned this recipe. Aside from flavor, the muffin texture is soft and spongy. We love the look, smell, and taste of mixed holiday spices. You could probably just use an apple pie or pumpkin spice mix in place of the ones listed. The yellow bits of squash provide color, texture, flavor, and moisture. The cranberries, while beautiful to look at, contribute to flavor by adding a little tartness but not much since they are halved and dispersed throughout. The crumble topping enhances sweetness and texture providing a little crunch. Yummy!
Check out my YouTube video for lots of visuals on making these muffins. “Holiday Spiced Squash & Cranberry Muffins with Crumble Topping: A Sweet & Fruity Breakfast Bread”
Holiday Spiced Squash & Cranberry Muffins with Crumble Topping
Ingredients
Muffin Batter:
- 240 g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
- 8 g (2 tsp) baking powder
- 1 g (¼ tsp) baking soda
- 3 g (½ tsp) salt
- 6 g (2 tsp) ground cinnamon
- 3 g (1 tsp) ground ginger
- 1 g (½ tsp) ground nutmeg
- 210 g (1 cup) squash, cooked and mashed = 1 small whole squash (~560 g / 1.5 lbs) acorn, delicata, butternut, pumpkin, etc.)
- 2 large eggs at room temperature and beaten
- 110 g (½ cup packed) brown sugar
- 100 g (½ cup) granulated sugar
- 157 ml (⅔ cup) whole milk or other milk
- 87 g (6 tbsp/3 oz) butter melted
- 100 g (1 cup) fresh cranberries halved
Crumble Topping:
- 60 g (½ cup) all-purpose flour
- 3 g (1 tsp) ground cinnamon
- 55 g (¼ cup packed) brown sugar
- 50 g (¼ cup) granulated sugar
- 58 g (4 tbsp/2 oz) butter melted
Instructions
Make the Muffin Batter:
- In a large bowl, sift together the first 7 dry ingredients from flour through nutmeg. Stir until well combined.
- In medium bowl, stir together squash, eggs, and both sugars. Measure out milk and pour it into the squash mixture and stir.
- Dice butter and melt it (~30 seconds in microwave) just until melted.
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, pour in squash mixture and melted butter. Stir just until combined; careful not to overmix.
- Slice each cranberry in half. Fold cranberries into the muffin batter just until dispersed.TIP: Slicing the cranberries disperses the tartness throughout each muffin and ensures they cook through during baking.
Prepare the Crumble Topping:
- In a small bowl, combine flour and cinnamon and mix well. Add both sugars and mix. Pour in butter and use a fork to combine just until the mixture crumbles; avoid a cohesive/doughy mixture.
- Spoon ~⅓ cup of batter in each muffin cup (⅔-¾ to the top). Add remaining batter to another muffin pan or set batter aside and bake another batch when the first is done. Distribute the crumble topping evening over each muffin. Gently press the crumble into the batter.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool just enough to remove them from the muffin cups. Serve warm with butter and enjoy.
Video
Notes
Check out these holiday recipes.
Grandma’s Crispy Crust Moist Skillet Cornbread
Canadian Tourtière: Holiday Meat Pie
3 Simple & Flavorful Pie Crusts
Sweet Potato Swirled Babka Bread
Venezuelan Pan de Jamón (Ham Bread)
Grandma’s Yeast Rolls (The Berry Family Recipe)
French Pain d’Épices (Spice Bread)
Greek Vasilopita New Year’s Cake
Spanish King Cake (Rascón de Reyes Epiphany Bread)
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