Twice Baked Winter Squash with Cinnamon Sugar Squash Seeds

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out of the oven

Squash season is a wonderful season!  I love winter squash for it’s versatility; it can be a savory dish or a sweet ending.  I made this with carnival squash, but you can make this with acorn squash as well, maybe even butternut. You could serve this as a sweet side dish, or just make it dessert :).

final 2

Twice Baked Acorn Squash

  • 2 winter squash, cut in half, with seeds removed and reserved to toast.
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries (optional)
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
  • 4 tablespoons vegan butter
  • 4 tablespoons flour
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup
  1. Place squash halves in microwave, cut side up, for 6 minutes on high (this greatly reduces the baking time.  If you don’t have a microwave you can do it entirely in the oven, it will just take about double the time).
  2. Preheat oven to 425F.
  3. Place squash halves cut side down on a baking sheet lined with foil and bake for 25 minutes or until flesh is soft and mashable.
  4. Turn the oven down to 350F.
  5. Scoop all the flesh out of the squash halves, leaving some around the edges to maintain the integrity of  squash shell.
  6. In a large bowl, add the squash, sugar, cinnamon, dried cranberries, walnuts, flour, vegan butter and maple syrup and mash it all together.
  7. Scoop mixture back into squash shells and bake for 8-10 minutes.
  8. Sprinkle tops with the cinnamon sugar squash seeds and enjoy!e

cinnamon sugar sees

Cinnamon Sugar Squash Seeds

  • 1 cup squash seeds, cleaned and patted dry (i put them between layers of paper towels to dry)
  • 1 tablespoon vegan butter, melted
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
  1. Oven should be at 350F
  2. Line a baking sheet with parchment or aluminum foil.
  3. Toss  the seeds with the melted butter and then spread out in a single layer on the baking sheet
  4. Mix the cinnamon and sugar together and then sprinkle 1/4 of the mixture over the squash seeds.
  5. Bake for 5 minutes, remove from oven, sprinkle with another 1/4 of  the cinnamon/sugar,  mix seeds gently, and then put back in the oven.
  6. Repeat step 5 until all the cinnamon sugar is mixed in with the seeds.
  7. Let cool completely and then sprinkle over the dessert squash.
Carnival Squas
Carnival Squash
scooped out shells
Scooped out shells
Mashing everything together
Mashing everything together
Baking the second time
Baking the second tim
Baking the squash seeds
Baking the squash seeds

One thought on “Twice Baked Winter Squash with Cinnamon Sugar Squash Seeds”

  1. What a delicious recipe, wholesome comfort-food, and what wonderful color this “carnival” variety of squash has. It kind of matches the changing foliage theme, (if you’re in to that sort of thing).

    I admit, I was skeptical when Jenny suggested squash could be a dessert dish, but it turns out the sugar, spice, fruit and nuts really make it work. I suppose it is similar to the way a baked apple can be a dessert, using the very same ingredients actually.

    I have good memories of carving jack-o-lanterns in the fall and eating toasted, salted pumpkin seeds. They are inviting and fun to chew on, but I also feel like I got my fill of that snack pretty quickly. Not something that you’d eat endlessly, not like pistachio nuts, or those holiday “nut bowls” that your relatives leave out.
    Similarly I have mixed thoughts on the squash seeds in this dish. It does mix things up a bit, and adds complexity and variety, which is all good. Although after eating just a few seeds I had my fill of the tough, fibrous texture… But then again by that point I also had my fill of the sweet squash, so I guess it worked out alright. It certainly didn’t stop me from getting a second helping. :p I guess the issue is that there’s such a stark contrast between the super soft texture of the squash and the firm toughness of the seeds, enough that it gave me pause. My brain didn’t know if I was eating a healthy vegetable or a sweet dessert. It’s something in-between, like fruit salad.

    But there’s no accounting for taste. Some people love crunchy textures, and will go for the dark-toasted heel of a bread loaf, just to get the extra-crunchy crust. Other’s, (like Jenny) love the super silky textures, like in tiramisu. So suit yourself I guess. It’s easy enough to make the squash seeds optional.

    By the way, it also seems like maybe the 2 recipes above can be merged, since the 2nd baking and the seed toasting are both done at 350 deg.F for 5-10 minutes. Would it work to sprinkle the seeds on the same pan as the squash, or would it be better to cook the seeds with radiant heat (broiling/grilling/toasting), as you would get from a separate pan on the top rack (shielding the squash baking below)? I guess I’ll have to try it out with this squash you gave me. But I’m so lazy!

    What does it say if I’m lazyier than the Lazy Vegan Baker? haha. 🙂 Anyway, I love winter squash. You can’t go wrong. Last night I just had some butternut with maple syrup. Super simple, super good. I love how you added the fruit and nuts though…they make anything better.
    Thanks for the hot recipes to get us through the cold winter.

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