The Gluten-Free Homemaker

I have a confession to make. I will not be sharing an acorn soup recipe like I originally told Linda. I’d offer my apologies, but this recipe is so much better! (Don’t get me wrong, I do like my acorn squash soup, but given the choice I’d rather eat this tasty dessert!)


I’m all about the sweets. Yes, I do like a good savory dish, but no matter what I make, sweet wins every time! When the weather gets colder my addiction to [dairy free] ice cream starts to diminish slightly and I start baking more.

This dish came about because I wanted to do something creative and tasty for Linda’s Squash special. Although it’s one of the most common squash varieties, I love LoVe LOVE butternut squash. I think it’s naturally sweet all by itself, but I decided to challenge myself by making a ‘real’ dessert. Plus I was craving a treat. The neat thing about this dessert is that it can also just be a meal. I ate one half as my whole dinner and was stuffed! Much like the squash actually…

Butternut Squash Dessert

Ingredients:

• 1 large butternut squash
• 1 cup soaked and drained raw cashews
• ¼ cup almond milk
• ½ cup apple cider
• 10 dates
• 10 drops liquid stevia
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• Optional: 2 dates for garnish

Instructions:

Start by turning on the oven to 450 degrees and lining a medium cookie sheet or pan with aluminum foil.
Wash the squash and then cut it, length-wise, in half. Scoop out the seeds. Place the halves face down (so the skin shows only) on the aluminum foil pan and put in the oven. Bake at 450 degrees for 20 minutes or until the squash is becoming tender and the skin has started to brown.

While the squash is baking, put your presoaked cashews into a food processor/blender with the almond milk and apple cider. Blend on high until you reach a smooth consistency. Add the dates, stevia, and vanilla extract next. Blend on high until it’s mostly smooth. I left some of the date pieces not completely blended but very small within the cashew paste. Spoon the paste into the holes in the squash.

Slice to dates into four pieces and press softly into the cashew paste. Put the squash back into the oven to bake for an additional 10 minutes. Remove and serve!