Mary Ellen Chadd of Green Spark Farm shared these recipes for biscuits and cookies. Any kind of squash will work with them, she says; buttercup or butternut are the easiest to work with, unless you have leftovers.

SQUASH DROP BISCUITS

Adapted from James Beard’s “Beard on Bread.”

2 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

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1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon nutmeg

½ stick (1/4 cup) butter, cut into chunks

1 tablespoon sugar, honey or maple syrup

¾ to 1 cup milk, buttermilk or water

½ cup cooked and mashed squash

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1 greased baking sheet

Preheat oven to 450. Put flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon in a medium-large mixing bowl. Whisk together to incorporate. In a second, smaller bowl, mix squash, ¾ cup milk and sweetener, and set aside. Reserve ¼ to ½ cup milk to even out the dough (when mixing), set aside.

Toss the flour mixture into the chunks of butter. Then, using your fingers, two knives, a heavy fork or a pastry cutter, blend the butter and flour mixture together into very fine particles, until it resembles finely milled cornmeal. Add the milk/squash liquid and fold dry and wet ingredients together until just incorporated. The dough should be very thick, like sticky, heavy chocolate mousse, but all the flour is incorporated (excepting a few small pea-sized pockets). If needed, add ¼ to ½ cup more liquid to make a good sticky, wet dough.

Immediately drop dough from a spoon onto greased baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. Serve piping hot with butter. This recipe usually makes four to six large biscuits (more if you drop them smaller).

SPICED SQUASH COOKIES

Adapted from Mary Ellen Chadd’s “Grandma D’s” persimmon cookie recipe.

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½ cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 cup cooked and mashed squash

1 cup nuts, optional

1 cup raisins, optional

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½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon cloves

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1/4 teaspoon ginger

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease one to two cookie sheets. Mix together well with a whisk: flour, salt, baking soda and all spices. Set aside. Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat egg and incorporate well into creamed butter/sugar. Fold mashed squash into creamed butter mixture. Mix together the wet and dry ingredients. Fold in raisins and nuts, if desired. Spoon out onto greased cookie sheets and bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.

STUFFED DELICATA SQUASH

Serves 4-6 as a main dish.

From “Always in Season: Twelve Months of Fresh Recipes from the Farmer’s Markets of New England” by Elise Richer, illustrated by Teresa Lagrange (Islandport Press, $26.95.

I was never a huge fan of stuffed squash – until I learned that if you roast the squash empty first, the whole thing tastes much better. Delicata is great for stuffing because the squash cooks quickly, and you can eat the skin. This recipe is flexible. You can leave out or add more things as you wish; I like having kale in there, but it does get kind of chewy after being baked. Try more mushrooms, quinoa, or even a chopped-up apple instead.

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1 cup chopped pecans (or substitute another nut)

1 pound mushrooms, cleaned and sliced 1/4-inch thick

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for brushing

Salt and pepper

1/4 to 1/2 cup minced parsley or other fresh herbs, if available

3 medium or 2 large delicata squash, halved lengthwise and seeded

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1 cup quinoa

4 cups water

3 cups kale, stemmed and chopped

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

2 teaspoons lemon juice

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1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spread nuts on a small baking sheet and toast until fragrant, 4 or 5 minutes. Cool.

Toss mushrooms with olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Spread on a baking sheet. Place in oven and roast for 15 minutes. Stir, then roast another 10 minutes, until mushrooms are browned and liquid has evaporated. Remove from oven. Toss mushrooms with chopped herbs in a large bowl and set aside.

At the same time, place squash halves skin side down on a foil-lined baking tray. Brush the inside of each with olive oil and sprinkle each with a pinch of salt and pepper. Roast them, in the same oven as the mushrooms, until squash is tender (but not collapsed) and lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Remove. Lower oven heat to 375 degrees.

Cook quinoa in 4 cups of salted boiling water for 5 minutes. Add chopped greens and continue simmering until greens are tender, about 10 more minutes. The quinoa will be done at this point, too. Drain well and add to mushrooms.

Add nuts, cranberries, feta cheese and lemon juice to mushroom/quinoa mixture. Stir to combine well. Taste and season with salt and pepper, if needed. Fill each squash half with filling and top each with a sprinkle of grated Parmesan cheese. Return to oven (375 degrees) and bake 15 minutes, until brown on top.

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THIS ARABIAN Squash Casserole from “The New Moosewood Cookbook” by Mollie Katzen (Ten Speed Press, $19.99) is Jan Wilcox’s favorite squash recipe. Mollie Katzen granted permission to reprint it here.

ARABIAN SQUASH CASSEROLE

Preparation time: About one hour, after the squash is cooked and pureed.

Good served with tabouli salad or with warmed pita bread and a spinach salad with ripe tomatoes.

Makes 4-5 servings.

4 cups cooked squash

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1 tablespoon olive oil

11/2 cups chopped onion

1 teaspoon salt

2 small bell peppers (one red and one green, if possible), minced

4 or 5 medium cloves garlic, minced

Black pepper and cayenne, to taste

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1/2 cup firm yogurt

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

Optional: sunflower seeds and/or minced walnuts, for the top

Preheat oven to 375.

Place the mashed or pureed squash in a large bowl.

Heat the olive oil in a medium-sized skillet. Add onion and saute over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add salt and bell peppers. Saute about 5 more minutes, or until the peppers begin to get soft.

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Add garlic, black pepper and cayenne and saute a few more minutes.

Add the saute, along with yogurt and feta, to the squash and mix well. Spread into an ungreased 9-inch-square baking pan; sprinkle the top lightly with sunflower seeds and/or minced walnuts.

Bake uncovered 25 to 30 minutes, or until bubbly.

ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

From “Junior’s Home Cooking: Over 100 Recipes for Classic Comfort Food” by Alan Rosen and Beth Allen (The Taunton Press, $24.95).

Makes 11/2 quarts (6 first-course or four light-meal servings)

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This soup is a more recent addition to Junior’s menu. The secret of its wonderful flavor is the slow roasting of the squash with Spanish onions, olive oil and seasonings. The roasted squash is then added to the soup pot along with chicken broth, a little maple syrup and a vanilla bean.

1 large butternut squash (about 4 pounds)

1 extra-large Spanish onion, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

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1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 quart (4 cups) chicken broth or stock (homemade or store-bought), or more if you wish your soup to be a little soupier

11/2 tablespoons maple syrup, plus more to taste

One 5-inch vanilla bean or a splash of pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 425. Peel and cut the squash into 1-inch cubes, then spread with the onion in a large roasting pan in a single layer. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with the salt, pepper and ginger. Roast, uncovered, for 45 minutes, or until fork-tender, stirring occasionally to avoid burning.

Transfer to a large soup pot. Add the broth, maple syrup and vanilla bean. Stir over medium-high heat just until the soup comes to a full boil.

Remove the vanilla bean. Carefully transfer the hot mixture to a food processor or blender and process for about 1 minute. (You may need to do this in batches.) Add a little more broth, salt, pepper and maple syrup if you wish.

Ladle the soup into individual bowls and garnish as you like (see The Junior’s Way). Let any leftover soup cool to room temperature. Refrigerate, tightly covered and enjoy within two days. Do not freeze this soup.

The Junior’s Way: Garnish the bowls of soup simply by scattering some diagonally sliced scallion greens on top. Or get a little fancier: Mix some sour cream with a bit of heavy cream, plus a drop or two of water. Put the mixture in a squeeze bottle or use a grapefruit spoon, and make a few white dots on the surface of the soup. Swirl the dots with a toothpick, creating your own unique design.


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