Acorn Squash Bowls with Pears, Pecans and Vanilla Bean Cream

Today's recipe is for the home cook who doesn't bake. It's for the person who doesn't want to worry about measuring cups of flour and other ingredients and dirtying a bunch of bowls and utensils. It's for the person who loves a not-too-sweet dessert or wants a killer brunch recipe to serve for the holidays. Okay, this recipe can really be for everyone. Unless you don't like squash, pears, pecans, or vanilla. In which case, I am so very sorry.

While I do enjoy more traditional baking, I also love the idea of this sort of deconstructed, roasted dessert in a bowl. Not only is it served in a bowl but the little acorn squash also forms a natural bowl, holding all of the saucy goodness.

This bowl-themed recipe is dedicated to my wonderful blog friend, Cynthia, from Two Red Bowls. Get it now with the "bowls" theme? (hehe) The lovely Alana + Stephanie organized a spectacular blog-land baby shower to celebrate the arrival of Cynthia's little babe, Luke. He arrived last week and is totally adorable. Not much beats a tiny, squishy little newborn. That wrinkly skin and newborn smell are just everything. I'm sure it's even more amazing when it's your little baby. Eeep! Cynthia's latest post, introducing her little man, was the sweetest ever. It got me all the more excited about the upcoming arrival of our little one. 

Here's to Cynthia, her husband, and baby Luke ("baby bowl"). I couldn't be happier for the three of you, and I'm wishing you the very best during this exciting, new time in your lives. I'm also fully expecting to hit you up when I'm freaking out in the first week after our girl is born. You'll have all the answers for me, right? :) Love to you!

Big thanks again to Alana + Stephanie for hosting this virtual baby shower for Cynthia! Be sure to check the hashtag #threeredbowls to see what everyone is posting!

Print Recipe!

Acorn Squash Bowls with Pears, Pecans and Vanilla Bean Cream

gluten-free, vegan  // yields 8 servings

for the squash:

• 2 medium acorn squash
• 1-2 tablespoons refined avocado oil (or other neutral tasting cooking oil)
• 1 cup pecans, roughly chopped
• 3 medium pears
• 1/4 cup butter, divided
• 1/3 - 1/2 cup brown sugar, divided
• pinch of salt

for the cream: (non-vegan option listed in notes)

• 1 cup cashews, soaked overnight + drained (not necessary to soak if using Vita-Mix, Blentec, etc.)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup unsweetened non-dairy creamer (I used Califia Better Half)
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 1/2 - 2-inch piece whole vanilla bean, cut into 2-3 pieces (pod + beans)
• pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoons vegan butter, melted

Preheat oven to 425° F and line a large baking sheet with parchment. Halve both squash from stem to end, remove seeds, then slice each half in half again (8 pieces total). Rub with a tablespoon or so of oil on all sides and place cut side down (either side) on the baking sheet. Roast for 18-20 minutes. Flip each piece to the other cut side and roast for another 10-15 minutes. Both cut edges should be deeply golden brown and squash will be tender.

Meanwhile, place all cream ingredients (except melted butter) in your blender. Blend working to high for about 60 seconds until completely smooth. Pour in melted butter and blend again. Thin out with a bit more water if needed. Consistency should pourable but not runny. It will thicken some as it sits. Add additional vanilla bean if desired. (I used a 2-inch piece.) Pour into a jar and set aside.

Heat a large skillet over med-low heat. Add the chopped pecans to the dry skillet and toast, stirring frequently, for 6-8 minutes until fragrant and starting to brown. Place in a bowl and wipe out the skillet.

Towards the end of the squash roasting, thinly slice your pears and discard the cores. Add 3 tablespoons of butter to the pan with the sliced pears and about 4-5 tablespoons loosely packed brown sugar. Stir frequently until pears start to soften and butter and sugar are bubbly, about 5-8 minutes.

When squash is done, remove from the oven and turn facing up, resting on the outer shell. Sprinkle with 2-3 tablespoons brown sugar and break apart the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and place a dab in the "bowl" of each slice. Place in the oven for about 4-5 minutes until bubbly. 

Remove and plate squash with warm pears and pecans, then drizzle with vanilla bean cream sauce. 

Notes:

Store cream in a sealed container in the fridge for about 1 week. Add a bit of water to thin out as needed and reheat in a pot over low heat.

If your vanilla beans are dry and hard, soak the cut piece in hot water for 15 minutes or so to soften.

For the non-vegan vanilla bean cream, use 6 tablespoons of water and 1/4 cup of half and half. Everything else remains the same.

Before I go, I have to give a shout out and mega thanks to my real-life and blog besties, Gena + Sonja for hosting my virtual shower yesterday! You can check #ediblebabybash for all of the amazing posts. The theme was breakfast, which was absolutely perfect. They know me too well! A huge, heartfelt thank you to everyone who joined in. We are feeling quite loved over here!

xo

Ashley

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Two Red Bowls baby shower links:

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Fix Feast Flair | Dishoom's Chicken Ruby Murray
The Fauxmartha | Mom Lunches
A Cozy Kitchen | Cornbread Chicken + Dumplings
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The Pancake Princess | Stovetop Pumpkin Bread Pudding
Snixy Kitchen | Chicken Pot Pie with Chestnut Biscuits
Lady and Pups | Egg Florentine in Pullman "Bowls"
Betty Liu | Honeynut Squash Congee
Style Sweet CA | Date Bourbon Cinnamon Rolls
Warm Vanilla Sugar | Broccoli Quinoa Bowl with Avocado Sauce
A Beautiful Plate | Coconut Cauliflower Soup
Girl Versus Dough | Tomato Grilled Cheese Soup
Fork to Belly | A HUGE Hawaiian Fruit Bowl!!!
Donny Tsang | Chawanmushi
Wit & Vinegar | Jerk Chicken Chili
Constellation Inspiration | Salted Egg Yolk Custard Mochi
twigg studios | Katsu Udon Soup wth Popcorn Chicken Croutons
Edible Perspective | Acorn Squash Bowls with Pears, Pecans, and Vanilla Bean Cream
Coco Cake Land | Asian Bowl Cut Sugar Cookies
Southern Souffle | Sorghum Apple Biscuits In A Bowl
The Bojon Gourmet | Smoky Sweet Potato & Lentil Tortilla Soup
Flourishing Foodie | Sweet Potato and Pumpkin Soup
What should I eat for breakfast today | Little Bowl with Creamy Polenta, Cheese, Onions and Mushrooms
Top with Cinnamon | Squash & Crispy Kale Bowls with Pomegranate and Miso-Ginger Dressing
the broken bread | Roasted Celeriac + Fennel Soup
Fig+Bleu | Cauliflower Harissa Soup
my name is yeh | Corn Dog In A Bowl
Crepes of Wrath | Mini Scallion Pancake Challah Buns
O&O Eats | Persimmon Cobbler
The Pig and Quill | Slow Cooker Pumpkin Curry Beef Stew
Hungry Girl Por Vida | Rice Cooker Oats with Bruleed Bananas
Chocolate + Marrow | Parsnip + Potato Soup with Crispy Pancetta
With Food + Love | Caramelized Golden Beet Soup with Fall Roots + Garlicky Yogurt

Vanilla Muffins

Friday! Friday!

We're starting this Friday off right with vanilla muffins. Vanilla muffins that are so full of goodness I can hardly stand it. I would definitely call myself vanilla obsessed. It's one of my all-time favorite kitchen ingredients and plain as it may be, my favorite ice cream flavor. 

This post is sponsored by Rodelle. All products have been tested and approved by my taste buds. 

A few months ago, I had the chance to meet some of the staff at Rodelle to learn everything there is to know about vanilla. Well, maybe not everything but a whole heck of a lot. I've been a long time fan of Rodelle's vanilla products, but I'm thrilled they reached out so I could learn even more. 

What stood out most to me was how they frequently visit the farms in Africa for more than just quality control of their product. While quality is very important, they focus much of their time and effort in making sure there are safe and sustainable working environments for the farmers. They also help support the communities as a whole by providing things like clean drinking water, safe cooking stoves, and with the microfinance program. Rodelle did not ask me to tell you any of this, but I was so impressed by their efforts and felt compelled to share. 

While the vanilla beans I received from Rodelle were the most fragrant, sticky, and plump I've ever encountered (honestly), I wanted to see if steeping them in hot water would make it easier to scrape the seeds and result in a larger yield. This totally worked! No vanilla beans were left behind! It was nice to feel like no beans were going to waste. I'm sure it's especially helpful if your beans have dried out a bit.

Recently, I was also able to tour the factory in Ft. Collins to take photos for a freelance project. I cannot even describe the intensity of the vanilla aroma that takes over the entire facility. I obviously loved it.

Have you ever made vanilla sugar before? I used muscovado sugar (it tastes like caramel sugar!) and followed Alton's simple instructions. As if my vanilla obsession wasn't bad enough.

I used the vanilla muscovado sugar as an alternative to the vanilla crumb topping for a few of the muffins. So good either way or with some of both! 

I also learned something about crumb topping in my trials.  

If you melt the coconut oil (or butter in some crumb topping recipes) you'll achieve a chunkier topping like you see below. However, if you use softened coconut oil (or butter) it will result in more of a crust topping that spreads over the entire muffin. It seems like the opposite should happen as the dough with the softened coconut oil is much crumblier before baking. But for whatever sciency reason, the melted oil gives you that real-deal "crumb" look.

Moving on....

And because I'm slightly strange and don't like crunchy things in my muffin but they're okay on top of my muffin, I've added cacao nibs to the crumb topping.

It provides a delicate crunch and slightly bitter, chocolaty bite to contrast all of that sweet vanilla flavor.

Print Recipe!

Vanilla Muffins with Crumb Topping 

heavily adapted from my citrus poppy seed muffins (guest post on 80-twenty)
gluten-free // yields: 12 standard muffins

for the crumb toppings:

• 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons gluten-free oat flour
• 1/4 cup gluten-free rolled oats
• 3 tablespoons muscovado sugar (or coconut sugar/sucanat)
• pinch of salt
• 3-4 tablespoons cacao bean nibs

for the muffins:

• 1 cup gluten-free oat flour
• 3/4 cup almond flour
• 6 tablespoons muscovado sugar (or coconut sugar/sucanat)
• 1/4 cup sorghum flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 teaspoon packed vanilla beans, scraped from appx. 2 plump pods
• 3 large eggs
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup melted unrefined coconut oil (lightly cooled)

Preheat oven to 350° F. 

Pour the coconut oil for the crumb topping in a small mixing bowl. Add the vanilla extract and stir. Then add the oat flour, oats, sugar, and salt. Stir/mash with a fork until a cohesive dough forms, similar in consistency to a soft cookie dough. Mix in the cacao nibs. Set aside. 

Line a muffin tin with 12 liners.

In a large bowl stir the oat flour, almond flour, sugar, sorghum flour, baking powder, and salt until well combined.

In another bowl, briskly whisk the milk and vanilla beans together until the beans are evenly distributed. Add in the eggs, applesauce, and vanilla extract and whisk until well combined. Whisk in the oil and then immediately pour into the dry bowl. Stir until you no longer see dry flour.

Scoop into the muffin liners, filling about 3/4 of the way to the top. Break up the crumble topping and sprinkle over top of the muffins. Quickly place in the oven and bake for 17-22 minutes, until the edges are light golden brown and a toothpick comes out nearly clean. You want the toothpick slightly sticky (but not gooey). Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan and then transfer to a cooling rack. Allow to cool for at least more 20 minutes before serving.

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Notes:

• I used Rodelle's Pure Madagascar Vanilla Extract and Madagascar Vanilla Beans in this recipe.
• To get the most from your vanilla beans, steep them in hot water for about 10 minutes. Then, blot dry, trim the ends with a pairing knife, slice down the center (through the top layer only), and scrape the entire inside of the pod with the dull side of your knife.
• I do not recommend subbing any flours. However, for a stickier/denser muffin, use 1 cup oat flour and 1 cup almond flour and leave the sorghum flour out. The sorghum helps lend a fluffier texture.
• If you don't have vanilla beans on hand: sub 2 tablespoons vanilla paste, or 2 tablespoons pure vanilla bean extract
• In the crumb topping, feel free to add a small pinch of vanilla beans if desired. Or, instead of 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, sub 1 teaspoon vanilla paste.
• If you want more of a crust on top of the muffin rather than a crumb topping, use 3 tablespoons softened unrefined coconut oil and reduce the oat flour to 1/2 cup. The dough will be crumbly.

Happy weekending!

Ashley

This post was sponsored by Rodelle. Opinions are always my own and products are thoroughly tested before sharing. Thank you for supporting the occasional sponsored post that helps fund all the deliciousness you find here!