Stop to admire a friend’s flourishing fall garden and you may walk away with an armload of autumn vegetables. This happened to me two weekends ago when I visited college friends in Lancaster County, Pa. Although I had gone to Amish country empty-handed, I returned home with bags of homegrown pumpkins and butternut squash. Unquestionably, I was grateful for the unexpected gifts but I was also at a loss for what to do with all this food.

Considered by many cooks to be the best winter squash, the bowling pin-shaped butternut possesses a tough, smooth, tan skin. Cut into the skin with a heavy, serrated knife and you’ll find creamy, orange, fragrant flesh. Some compare its sweet, rich flavor to sweet potatoes while others liken it to roasted chestnuts. To me it tastes like butternut squash.

A versatile vegetable, this squash goes nicely with savory foods such as bacon, anchovies, cheese, garlic and onions. It also compliments such sweets as brown sugar, coconut, maple syrup, vanilla and yams.

In spite of its versatility I tend to use butternut squash in a limited number of recipes. Because it bakes, braises and mashes well, I feature it in gratins, soups, mashes and purees. While these are all great dishes, I should broaden my use of this lovely, low-calorie, high fiber veggie. I should expand my squash repertoire.

Cashing in on the vegetable’s sweetness, I turned some of my squash stash into muffins. As you might expect from a baked good dubbed “butter-nut-squash,” the following muffins include butter, nuts and squash.

BUTTER-NUT-SQUASH MUFFINS
Makes 2 dozen

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 2/3 cups grated butternut squash (from 1/2 small squash)
1 cup roughly chopped walnuts
4 eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/3 cup milk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease 2 (12-cup) muffin pans and set aside.

In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking powder and soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Add the squash and nuts and toss to coat.

In a separate bowl whisk together the eggs, sugar, butter, milk and vanilla. Once the liquids are well-blended, add them to the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Don’t overmix the lumpy batter.

Spoon the batter into the greased muffin cups and bake for 20 to 22 minutes; when finished, the muffins will be golden brown on top. Remove the pans from the oven and allow the muffins to stand for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the muffins from the pans and, placing them on a wire rack, allow them to cool before serving.