Like last year, I woke up on the day after Thanksgiving with a hankering for healthy muffins to counteract all that pie and stuffing.

With a pint of apple cider and a winter squash to use up, I adjusted a recipe I found in The Joy of Cooking that uses orange juice and carrots.

You will need:

1.5 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

5 tablespoons (70g) melted butter or vegetable oil

1/4 cup apple cider or orange juice

1.5 cups shredded winter squash or carrots

1/2 cup raisins

1. Shred your squash if you haven’t already.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Grease one 12-cup muffin pan or use liners.  In a large bowl, whisk together the first seven dry ingredients.
3. In a second large bowl, mix together the sugar and eggs.  Then add the squash and let sit for ten minutes.
4. Add the raisins to the squash mixture.  Then pour the squash mixture into the dry ingredient bowl.
5. Mix until just combined, then use a 1/4 cup measure to divide your batter into your muffin pan.  Bake 18-20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
6. Let cool slightly before eating, although you can eat these muffins warm too.The Little Bread Dudes loved these muffins.  But then, they always do.  I hope you do too!