Eat Your Vegetables With This Tasty Holiday Dessert
It's easy to overindulge during the holiday season - especially with desserts. Here's a sweet recipe you can feel good about.
From decorating cookies to assembling various fruit pies, baking is an activity that can bring us together during the holidays. Associate Engineer Katie Ware from our Robotic Process Automation Department loves to bake and get her kids involved in the kitchen, but says sharing the final product with family, friends, and neighbors is the best part of it all!
To help us celebrate the holidays, Katie has shared one of her favorite holiday recipes. Winter Squash Squares have been a staple in her family for two decades after her mom found it in a magazine. Since they grew their own winter squash at home and would have a large amount ready for harvest by the end of the year, the recipe was a perfect fit.
We love this recipe because it’s tasty, easy to make, and unlike many other sweet treats, incorporates a vegetable!
Winter Squash Squares Recipe
Dry ingredients:
- 2 cups flour
- 2 cups sugar or baking sugar alternative
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Wet ingredients:
- 4 eggs beaten
- 2 cups mashed, cooked winter squash
- 1 cup vegetable oil
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350⁰ F and grease 15x10 or 13x9 pan or two 8x8 pans.
- In a mixing bowl combine all dry ingredients.
- Stir in eggs, squash, and oil. Mix well.
- Spread into greased pan.
- Bake at 350⁰ F for 25-30 minutes. Might take a little longer in a 12x9 pan, less for 2 8x8s.
Frosting Recipe
This step is optional (especially if you want to avoid adding too much sugar) but it does happen to be Katie’s favorite part of the recipe.
Ingredients:
- 3 oz. softened cream cheese
- 2 cups confectioner’s sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 6 tablespoons softened butter
- 1 tablespoon milk
Directions:
- Beat together cream cheese, confectioner’s sugar, vanilla, and butter.
- Add milk and beat until smooth.
- Cool cake completely, then frost.
Katie’s Expert Squash Tip
Bake the squash and scrape them out as soon as they cool. If you wait too long, sometimes they are harder to get out of the peel. If you boil the squash, they need to be drained well before mashing, or you might have to add a little extra flour.
“I think buttercup squash taste the best overall and that’s usually what I use,” Katie says. “But blue hubbard also works if you like to go big, or butternut if you mash it well.”
Adjusting the Recipe
Katie was diagnosed with celiac disease in 2009 and has been experimenting with making all of her recipes gluten free ever since. “I have found the Winter Squash Squares recipe works great with King Arthur Gluten Free Flour mix. Generally baking gluten-free is a bit of a chemistry experiment, but their mix is my go-to for swapping out in recipes that weren’t designed to be gluten-free,” she says.
You can also experiment with plant-based products to make your Winter Squash Squares vegan-friendly.
Shopping Local
Growing up on a small farm made Katie more aware of the importance of supporting local farmers, often trying to visit local farmers markets whenever she can. You can visit a winter farmers market near you in Brattleboro, Burlington, Dorset, Montpelier, Norwich, St. Johnsbury, or South Hero. Check your town’s website for additional events, including virtual markets.
Supporting small businesses is a big part of being a Vermonter, so we encourage you to shop local for your ingredients this holiday season.
If you try out Katie’s Winter Squash Squares recipe this year, we’d love to see the final product! Post a photo of your creation on social media and tag us @bluecrossvt.
