Buttermilk Pumpkin Buckwheat Muffins (kiddo friendly)
We’ve had our first frost at the farm, all of the winter squash has been harvested, and the tomatoes are holding on by a thread. With colder days, darker mornings, and mittens and wool hats getting pulled out of storage, I feel like it’s finally time to whip up a baked pumpkin treat. These muffins are a warming and cozy treat that I feel good about giving my daughter. With nourishing ingredients, very little sweetener, and grains that have been soaked overnight in buttermilk to make them more easily digestible, these muffins have a lot of great things going on. I cracked open a giant blue hubbard squash and baked the flesh which is what I used in these muffins but you can use any type of winter squash– sugar pumpkins, butternuts, acorn, kabocha, etc. However, the blue hubbard’s have such a lovely nutty and sweet flavor that I think they make a superior squash to use when you’re making something sweet. They’re intimidating in size but you just have to literally “drop” one on the ground and it will crack open in individual pieces that are easy to work with. I’ll post a video of me and Pepper breaking one open soon! But again, any winter squash will work just fine in this recipe. Work with what you’ve got!!
Happy pumpkin season!
Buttermilk Pumpkin Buckwheat Muffins
Prep Time: overnight Cook Time: 25 minutes Serves: 12 muffins
- 3/4 cup buckwheat flour
- 3/4 cup millet flour (see note)
- 1/2 cup amaranth flour (see note)
- 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup melted butter
- 1 heaping cup of cooked and mashed pumpkin puree
Preparation
- The evening before baking, mix your flours with the buttermilk and place in a warm spot in your kitchen. Cover with a towel.
- The next morning preheat your oven to 350F. Grease a standard 12 cup muffin tin and set it aside.
- Add the baking soda, salt, and spices to the bowl with the dough. Add the vanilla, maple syrup, eggs, and melted butter. Fold in the pumpkin/squash puree until just combined.
- Fill the muffin tins and bake in the oven until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle of a muffin. About 25 minutes. Start checking the muffins around the 22 minute mark. Cooking times will vary depending on your oven.
- Store cooled muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Then place in the fridge for up to 5 days. Gently reheat in the oven for a warm treat.
Notes
If you don't have millet or amaranth flour, you can make up the difference with whole wheat or all-purpose flour. It's important to soak the flour in the buttermilk the evening before to help break down the phtyic acid in the grains. This step helps to make the grains more easily digested and nutritious. Any type of cooked and mashed pumpkin or winter squash will work well here.
I can’t have milk. Is there a substitute? I’m concerned just subbing in canned coconut milk won’t replace what the buttermilk brings. Thank you!
You can replace the buttermilk with a non-dairy yogurt. Happy baking!
Okay I am a big fan of this soaked flour in yogurt/buttermilk method and would love to adapt your beet + carrot morning glory recipe. Do you think just swapping the 1 c pumpkin purree with 1.5 c grated veg would be a good taking off point?
I think that would work just fine! Let me know if you try!! Yay!
I’m a new mom of an almost 15 month old and love that you’ve posted recipes for young babes in mind. How would I scale this recipe or your other muffin recipes for a tray of 12 mini muffins? Half recipe or less?
I’m a new mom of an almost 15 month old and love that you’ve posted recipes for young babes in mind. How would I scale this recipe or your other muffin recipes for a tray of 12 mini muffins? Half recipe or less? Thanks again for your recipes!
I’m loving your recipes for soaked muffins! The buckwheat pumpkin cornbread was a hit and made good use of both the corn flour and pumpkin in our CSA share. Do you think mashed banana could replace the pumpkin and kefir could replace the buttermilk in this recipe?
I’m so glad you’re loving the muffin recipes! There’s a lot more coming in the next month. We’re making so many variations of these muffins (sweet and savory!) I think banana and kefir would work just fine as replacements in this recipe. I’d make sure to really mash the banana well to make it a similar consistency as the pumpkin but otherwise I think it’d be a tasty substitution. And I’ve replaced the buttermilk with yogurt before and I think kefir will work beautifully.