Warm up your mornings with these Gingerbread Muffins! Sweet, spiced, and tender, they’re everything you love about the holidays in muffin form.
Start your day off with a breakfast that embodies the holidays with these Gingerbread Muffins! Ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg bring these muffins to life and fill your kitchen with all your favorite holiday flavors. They’re perfect for breakfast, as a snack, or any time of the day!
We’re huge fans of all things gingerbread. If you like these muffins then you have to try our Gingerbread Pancakes and Gingerbread Waffles.
Table of Contents
Recipe Ingredients
Spices – You’ll need cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. I’d highly recommend using all four of these to get that wonderful robust flavor that gingerbread has.
Turbinado Sugar – The golden, chunky sugar sprinkled on top adds a delightful crunch and sparkle. It’s often sold in the bulk section, so grab just what you need for this recipe.
Molasses – I recommend using light or dark molasses rather than blackstrap. Blackstrap molasses is overpowering, salty, and bitter, because it doesn’t have as much sugar as normal molasses.
For a full list of ingredients and amounts, see the recipe card below.
Variations
Vegan Muffins – Replace the egg with a flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flaxseed mixed with 3 tablespoons water), use coconut oil or vegetable oil, and substitute cashew milk with any plant-based milk like almond or oat milk.
How to Make Gingerbread Muffins
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (205 degrees Celsius). Line a standard-size muffin tin with 12 liners, and set aside.
Step 2: In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, molasses, oil, and applesauce. Mix until combined. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined.
Step 3: In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Gradually alternate adding the dry ingredients and the milk. Mix just until combined.
Step 4: Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tin (I used a large cookie/ice cream scoop) – fill ¾ of the way full. Sprinkle with sugar if desired (omit if you plan on glazing them).
Step 5: Place into the oven and bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit (205 degrees Celsius), then turn the oven down to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius) and bake for an additional 5–7 minutes or until the tops spring back when touched. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Step 6: For the glaze: in a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, maple syrup, and vanilla.
Step 7: Dip the tops of the muffins in the glaze and swirl for 30 seconds or so to remove any excess glaze. Allow to harden/set for 10 minutes before serving.
FAQs
These gingerbread muffins are delicious on their own, but you can also serve them warm with a dollop of whipped cream or a drizzle of maple syrup. They’re perfect alongside a cup of coffee, tea, or hot cocoa for a cozy breakfast or snack.
Yes, this recipe works well for mini muffins. Adjust the baking time to 8–10 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius).
Storage Information
STORE your Bakery Style Muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for 3–4 days. If glazed, the glaze helps keep the tops from drying out. For longer storage, refrigerate them to extend freshness by an additional 2 days.
To FREEZE, let the muffins cool completely, then wrap each individually in plastic wrap followed by a layer of foil. Place them in a freezer-safe bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
More Holiday Desserts to Try
Gingerbread Muffins Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar - packed
- 1/3 cup molasses
- 1/2 cup canola oil - OR vegetable OR coconut oil
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp kosher sea salt
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 cup cashew milk - we like Almond Breeze*
- turbinado sugar - for sprinkling on the top
For the Maple Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp cashew milk - we like Almond Breeze*
- 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (205 degrees Celsius). Line a standard-size muffin tin with 12 liners, and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, molasses, oil, and applesauce. Mix until combined. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Gradually alternate adding the dry ingredients and the milk. Mix just until combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tin (I used a large cookie/ice cream scoop) – fill ¾ of the way full. Sprinkle with sugar if desired (omit if you plan on glazing them).
- Place into the oven and bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit (205 degrees Celsius), then turn the oven down to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius) and bake for an additional 5–7 minutes or until the tops spring back when touched. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- For the glaze: in a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, maple syrup, and vanilla.
- Dip the tops of the muffins in the glaze and swirl for 30 seconds or so to remove any excess glaze. Allow to harden/set for 10 minutes before serving.
This is hands down the best gingerbread muffin recipe! I have been looking for a good one for a long time…. SO glad to have found it! I made these yesterday and they were a hot with all 5 of my kids. I used 1/3 c of each sugar (simply from lazyness lol) and instead of milk I used up some leftover caramel flavoured yogurt i had. It was watery as it had been frozen. Oh and I used grape (i think?) molasses- because that is all I had. Otherwise I followed everything else to a T and I was so pleased. This is going in the recipe box! I had 3 … can’t wait to make more 😀
Glad to hear they were a hit! Thanks for stopping by Kelly!
I made these for breakfast for my kids and myself this morning, and they are great! I used half all purpose and half white whole wheat flour. Also, I used 1/4 cup vanilla Greek yogurt in place of half of the oil and regular cow’s milk instead of the dairy free. My muffins had to bake about 24 minutes total (my oven tends to take longer). These were delicious! What a great breakfast for this time of the year, and my house smells great! My 2 and 4 year old loved them as well. Thank you for sharing your recipe, I’m sure we’ll make these again!
OH MY – these looks so good!! Perfect for Christmas morning. Thanks!!
Oh my goodness – those look positively scrumptious!!!!
Oh yummy! This looks so good!
Thanks Shawnna! They were delicious! 🙂