Orange-Glazed Acorn Squash

William (Uncle Bill) Anatooskin's Note:

This recipe is from TASTE OF HOME. It is very easy to make and is so very tasty. The orange, lemon zest and spices give it a wonderful flavor. I added some spices and lemon zest to enhance the flavor.

• Total Time: 1 hrs
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 50 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 2 medium acorn squash
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon, zest of
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Cut squash in half lenghtwise; remove seeds and discard.
3. Place squash cut side down in a 13" x 9" oven-proof casserole dish.
4. Add hot water until there is about 1/2" of water in the casserole dish.
5. Bake, uncovered in preheated 350 F oven for 30 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, in a medium-size saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.
7. Stir in sugar, orange juice concentrate, nutmeg, cinnamon, orange zest, lemon zest, salt and pepper and bring to boil.
8. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook uncovered for 20 minutes or until just syrupy, stirring often, DO NOT BURN.
9. Drain water from casserole dish and turn squash cut side up.
10. Measure 4 tablespoons of orange glaze into each squash half.
11. Drizzle some orange glaze on edges of squash.
12. Return to oven and bake in preheated 350 F oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until squash is tender.
13. If desired, serve with additional glaze.

Reviews

[Miss Annie in Indy]

I really enjoy squash and this recipe sent it over the top in my opinion. I followed Bergy's advice and didn't pre-cook the sauce, just whipped it all together and put in the cavity of the pre-cooked squash. I did make a couple of changes, brown sugar for the granulated and allspice for the nutmeg & cinnamon. It was delicious and great new way to enjoy squash, thanks for sharing.

[UmmBinat]

Almost 4 1/2 stars. Like another reviewer I found the orange flavour quite strong though not bad, I used orange juice not concentrate. I used dark brown demera sugar crystals and a pinch of allspice instead of nutmeg because of its intoxicant properties. I used salted butter and did not add any extra salt. Like another reviewer I did not precook the glaze and it still glazed the squash.

[Sue Lau]

This was really good, but I did find that the flavor of the glaze/sauce was a bit intense and the orange flavor subdued the flavor of the spices. I ended up pouring the glaze/sauce that was in the squash off and found I liked this much better. So next time I will use about 1/4-1/2 of the amount of glaze called for, and perhaps up the spices so they can compete better with the orange. I also cooked my squash for 70 minutes total, but I do like my squash to be tender. Thanks for posting.