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Gingerbread Muffins

Cozy, sweet, spiced Gingerbread Muffins make a wonderful treat for a special Christmas breakfast or brunch. Or keep a batch around to serve with coffee or tea for holiday visitors.

Gingerbread Muffins piled on a cloth-lined tray

Gingerbread Muffins

If you’re a big fan of all things gingerbread, then you’re going to adore these Gingerbread Muffins! They’re made with molasses along with brown sugar for plenty of bold flavor. Add some cozy winter spices, and you’ve got a wonderful holiday treat!

Besides that amazing, bold flavor, you’ll love how easy it is to whip up a batch of these muffins. You can have them mixed and ready for the oven in short order. They’re wonderful while they’re still warm, but they’ll keep for a few days after baking, too.

A simple sprinkling of coarse sugar is my favorite topping for these muffins. That keeps them simple and easy to grab for your family or guests. If you want a more elaborate topping, see my tips section below for a simple glaze you can add.

For more muffin recipes to enjoy during Christmastime, try Brown Butter Sour Cream Spice Muffins, Chocolate Chip Muffins, Cookie Butter Banana Muffins, Cranberry Orange Muffins, or browse all of my muffin recipes.

overhead view of Gingerbread Muffins scattered over a countertop

What You’ll Need

See the recipe card at the bottom of this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions. Here are some notes about the ingredients you’ll need to make these Gingerbread Muffins.

overhead view of ingredients for Gingerbread Muffins
  • All-purpose flour – For best results, measure by weight. If you don’t have a digital kitchen scale, use the spoon and sweep method to avoid over-measuring. Learn more: How to Measure Flour
  • Brown sugar – Use dark brown sugar if you want a more pronounced molasses flavor. Pack it firmly into the measuring cup or measure by weight. Learn more: Light vs Dark Brown Sugar
  • Baking powder
  • Baking soda
  • Salt
  • Ginger
  • Cinnamon
  • Nutmeg
  • Eggs – Set these out before you begin baking so they can come to room temperature.
  • Unsalted butter – After melting the butter, let it cool for a few minutes so it’s still warm but not hot.
  • Molasses – See my note below about choosing a molasses for baking.
  • Milk – Let the milk come to room temperature, too.
  • Coarse sugar – This is optional but adds an extra bite of sweetness and a little sparkle to the muffins. Any coarse sugar will work, but I recommend demerara or turbinado if you have it.
overhead view of Gingerbread Muffins in a towel-lined tray

What Kind of Molasses Should I Use?

Molasses is made by boiling the juice from crushed or pressed cane sugar. The more times it goes through that process, the stronger flavor the resulting molasses has.

Light or dark (robust) molasses is usually the best choice for baking. Pick which you like based on your taste preferences. (For what it’s worth, I prefer to use light molasses.) There’s also a stronger variety called blackstrap molasses, which is quite dark and less sweet than the other varieties.

a Gingerbread Muffin with a bite missing, with more muffins in the background

How to Make Gingerbread Muffins

This easy recipe follows the usual muffin method of mixing. You won’t need an electric mixer for these muffins; just grab a couple of mixing bowls and a big mixing spoon.

Prepare for baking. Heat the oven to 400°F. Line 12 standard muffin cups with paper liners, or grease the cups if you want to skip the liners.

Combine the dry ingredients and sugar. Whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Make a well in the center.

Combine the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Add the melted butter, molasses, and milk, and stir until combined.

Finish mixing. Pour the butter mixture into the well in the flour mixture. Stir just until combined.

Portion. Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. You’ll need about 3 tablespoons of batter to fill each cup 3/4 full. If you like, sprinkle coarse sugar over the top of the muffins.

Bake. Place the muffin pan in the oven, and bake the muffins 12 to 15 minutes. When a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean, they’re ready to come out of the oven.

Cool. Place the pan on a wire rack, and allow the muffins to cool for 10 minutes. Then transfer the muffins from the pan directly onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Gingerbread Muffins partially removed from a muffin pan

Tips for Success

  • Don’t over-mix. To get soft muffins, only mix the batter until the last of the dry ingredients are moistened. You can even stop just before then when a few small streaks of flour remain, as those will moisten during baking.
  • Check your spices. If those spice jars have been in the cabinet for a while, it might be time to replace them. They should have a strong aroma.
  • Use a scoop for portioning. A 3-tablespoon scoop will make quick work of dividing the batter while making sure your muffins are all the same size for even baking.
  • Want to add a glaze? Combine confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar) with milk or lemon juice for a simple sweet glaze to drizzle over the muffins. The glaze on Triple Citrus Poppy Seed Muffins is a good one.
stack of three Gingerbread Muffins

How to Store

Place the cooled muffins in an airtight container and store at room temperature up to 3 days. To help prevent them from getting soggy, line the container with paper towels and place another on top to absorb excess moisture.

How to Freeze

After the muffins have cooled completely, place them in an airtight container that’s freezer-safe. For an extra layer of protection, you can wrap each muffin in plastic wrap. Properly stored, the muffins should keep in the freezer up to 3 months. Thaw for an hour or so at room temperature.

Gingerbread Muffins in a towel-lined white tray

Gingerbread Muffins

Yield 12 standard muffins
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes

Soft, flavorful Gingerbread Muffins are a favorite holiday treat!

Gingerbread Muffins in a towel-lined white tray

Ingredients

  • 2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup (100g) firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 2 large eggs
  • 6 tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
  • 1/2 cup (170g) molasses
  • 1/3 cup (79ml) milk
  • coarse sugar, optional

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line 12 standard muffin cups with paper liners. (Or grease the cups if you don't want to use liners.)
  2. Whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center.
  3. Place the eggs in a separate bowl, and beat them lightly. Add the butter, molasses, and milk, and stir to combine.
  4. Pour the butter mixture into the well in the flour mixture. Stir just until combined.
  5. Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups, using about 3 tablespoons of batter to fill each cup 3/4 full. If you like, sprinkle the tops of each muffin with a heavy pinch of coarse sugar.
  6. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until a pick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  7. Cool the muffins in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Then transfer the muffins from the pan directly onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

Store the muffins in an airtight container up to 3 days or in the freezer up to 3 months.

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    12 Comments on “Gingerbread Muffins”

  1. To make these dairy free, what could be substituted for the butter and milk?

    • Hi, Kathy. I don’t do much baking for special diets, so I can’t say with any certainty what would work well. You can likely use oil in place of the butter and a dairy-free milk to get a similar result. If you try it, let me know how it works!

    • I do a lot of dairy free baking and have found Smart Balance in place of butter and coconut milk in place of dairy milk works well.

  2. I was wondering if you’ve tried to make these gluten free. My youngest daughter loves gingerbread but isn’t allowed any gluten in her diet. There are so many different gluten free flours out there and I know that not every one is right for every recipe. I was hoping you would know which might work best for this one.

  3. Do you have any nutritional information on the muffins? Specifically the amount of carbohydrates per muffin, My husband is a diabetic.

  4. I baked these muffins just before Christmas. I followed the directions exactly as printed. The muffins smelled so good while baking and they looked just as pretty as your picture., but they were so dry. What did I do wrong?

    • I’m sorry you had troubles, Sharon! Dry almost always means too much flour, which is usually a result of mis-measuring. If you have a digital kitchen scale, I highly recommend using it to measure by weight.

  5. I think cooking these muffins at 400 degrees is too hot. The bottoms and edges burnt before the middle was done. I think I will try these at 375 next time 

    • If you haven’t recently, you might check the accuracy of your oven’s temperature with an oven thermometer. Also, if you’re using a dark pan, that will result in overdone edges and bottoms.

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