Gingerbread muffins are soft and fluffy, bakery style molasses muffins. They are filled with lots of cozy warming spices and are topped with crunchy sugar. These ginger muffins are easy to make and will be your favorite winter muffin recipe.
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Why Should You Make This Recipe
My favorite ingredients to bake with when the weather gets colder is molasses and all the cozy warming spices such as cinnamon and ginger. A few of my hands down favorite sweet molasses recipes on the blog are my Molasses Cake, Chewy Molasses Cookies, and Citrus Gingerbread Loaf Cake. I know you’ll love these ginger muffins as much as I do because:
- Easy to make. These ginger molasses muffins are easy to make and bake in about 30 minutes. Simply mix up the batter, top with sugar, bake and enjoy with your favorite warm beverage.
- Perfectly cozy and perfect for the holiday season. Fans of gingerbread and spiced bread, these winter muffins are for you! The molasses brings a smoky sweetness, which perfectly balances the sweet cinnamon, spicy ginger and bright lemon zest. They’re the perfect sweet, but not too sweet healthy muffins for Christmas breakfast.
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make these sticky gingerbread muffins.
- Dry Ingredients: Gather all purpose flour, baking soda, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground cloves, ground nutmeg and salt.
- Wet Ingredients: Gather molasses, water, butter, light brown sugar, an egg, sour cream and milk.
Substitutions
These bakery style ginger muffins are quick and easy to make using pantry basics. Here are my recommended substitutions to make these soft and wonderfully delicious muffins.
- All purpose flour: To make these gingerbread muffins gluten free, use a good 1-1 gluten free flour. I recommend using the one from Bob’s Red Mill.
- Baking Soda: A double acting baking powder is the best substitute for baking soda. However, these molasses ginger muffins have not been tested using baking powder.
- Ground Spices: Feel free to use 2-3 teaspoons of Pumpkin spice, chai spice or apple pie spice in this recipe if you would prefer.
- Unsalted Butter: You can use the same amount of salted butter as written in the recipe, but omit the added salt. Use a vegan, plant based butter or coconut oil if needed to make these molasses ginger muffins dairy free.
- Light Brown Sugar: This recipe hasn’t been tested using alternative sugars. However, I love using maple sugar as a refined sugar free option in my other recipes. Maple sugar bakes very similarly to light brown sugar.
- Egg: This recipe hasn’t been tested without eggs. However, you could use ¼ cup applesauce in place of the egg to make these vegan gingerbread muffins.
- Sour Cream: A thick and creamy greek yogurt works well in this recipe. If needed, use a full fat plant based yogurt.
- Milk: Use any milk you like.
- Molasses: Use unsulphured molasses, not blackstrap for these muffins. If you must substitute, honey would work the best.
Variations
- Lemon Glaze: Top these gingerbread muffins with a tart lemon glaze. Whisk 1 cup powdered sugar (120 g) with 2 - 3 tablespoons (30-45 ml) lemon juice until smooth. Pour over the cooled muffins, set and enjoy.
- Vanilla Glaze: Top the ginger molasses muffins with a vanilla glaze. Whisk 1 cup powdered sugar (120 g) with 1 teaspoons (5 ml) vanilla extract and 2-3 tablespoons milk. Drizzle over the cooled muffins, set and enjoy.
- Cream Cheese Frosting: For a more decadent topping use the recipe for my Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting.
- Chocolate Chip Gingerbread Muffins: Mix in 1 cup (170 g) semi sweet, milk or dark chocolate chips into the muffin batter at the same time as the dry ingredients. Scoop and bake as written in the recipe.
- Mini Gingerbread Muffins: Prepare the muffin recipe according to the recipe directions. Grease or line a 24 ct. mini muffin pan with mini cupcake liners. Preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C) and fill each muffin liner with out 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of muffin batter. Bake for 10-14 minutes.
How To Make
Learn how to make gingerbread muffins in a few easy steps.
- Preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C). Line a 12 ct. muffin pan with cupcake liners. In a microwave safe cup, heat water to warm and mix in the molasses until smooth and well combined.
- In a mixing bowl whisk the all purpose flour, baking soda, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground cloves, ground nutmeg and salt together until well combined.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the melted butter and light brown sugar together until well combined. Whisk in the warm molasses, followed by the egg and sour cream until smooth and well combined. Mix the dry ingredients into wet, alternating with the milk until just combined.
4. Use a 3 tablespoon sized cookie scoop to scoop the muffin batter into each of the muffin liners. For the tall bakery style tops, alternate muffin cups. Top with coarse sugar if you like. Bake the ginger muffins for 17 -20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs and the tops bounce back quickly when lightly pressed. Cool the muffin pan in the pan for 5 - 10 minutes. Gently lift the molasses spiced muffins out of the pan and transfer to a cooling rack to cool to room temperature and enjoy!
How To Store, Freeze and Thaw
- Store: Place leftover gingerbread muffins in an airtight container for up to 5 days. If the molasses muffins are topped with a cream cheese frosting, the muffins must be stored in the fridge for the entire 5 days.
- Freeze: Make sure the muffins are completely cooled to room temperature. Individually wrap each slice or the entire cake in plastic wrap and place in a freezer safe container. Store in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- Thaw: The easiest and tastiest way to thaw the molasses ginger muffins is to let them sit out at room temperature until thawed. Enjoy at room temperature or microwave the cake slice for 20 - 30 seconds for that “fresh from the oven” taste.
M’s Expert Tips
- Do not use blackstrap molasses. Light or dark molasses is best for this gingerbread cake. Blackstrap is not a great molasses for cake. The flavor is more suited for savory dishes.
- Mix the molasses with warm water. This helps to thin out the molasses which allows it to mix into the cake batter more evenly.
- Bring cold ingredients to room temperature. This allows the ingredients to mix together more evenly which requires less mixing, resulting in soft, fluffy, moist and tender molasses cake.
- Don’t overmix the batter. Always use the lowest speed on your electric mixer or mix in the dry ingredients by hand. Make sure to mix the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined.
- Use the baking times as a guide. All ovens vary and baking times should be used as a guide. As a general rule, when the cake becomes fragrant, it’s a good idea to start checking. Begin checking on the muffins at the minimum baking time. A toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins should come out with a few moist crumbs and the top should bounce back quickly when gently pressed.
FAQs
What makes gingerbread taste like gingerbread?
For the truest gingerbread flavor, molasses and lots of warming spices such as ginger and cinnamon are used. Make sure to use unsulphured molasses rather than a blackstrap molasses.
Is gingerbread healthy?
The spices used to flavor gingerbread, such as ginger and cinnamon, make gingerbread recipes like these gingerbread muffins healthy.
Other Muffin Recipes to Try
If you try this Gingerbread Muffins recipe please rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Doing so helps other readers decide if this is a great recipe to bake. Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram using @olivesnthyme so I can see what you’re baking! - M
Gingerbread Muffins Recipe
Gingerbread muffins are soft and fluffy, bakery style molasses muffins. They are filled with lots of cozy warming spices and are topped with crunchy sugar. These ginger muffins are easy to make and will be your favorite winter muffin recipe.
Equipment
- 1 whisk and spoon or flexible spatula
- 1 large cookie scoop (3 tbsp, 45 ml) optional
Ingredients
- ½ cup (118 ml) molasses
- ¼ cup (59 ml) very warm water
- 2 cups (240 g) all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2½ teaspoons ground ginger
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, melted
- ¾ cup (150 g) light brown sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- ¼ cup (60 g) sour cream, room temperature
- ¼ cup (59 ml) milk, room temperature
- 2 - 3 tablespoons (25 - 38 g) coarse sugar for topping, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C). Line a 12 ct. muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- In a microwave safe cup, heat water to warm and mix in the molasses until smooth and well combined.½ cup (118 ml) molasses, ¼ cup (59 ml) very warm water
- In a mixing bowl whisk the all purpose flour, baking soda, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground cloves, ground nutmeg and salt together until well combined.2 cups (240 g) all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 2½ teaspoons ground ginger, 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon , 1 teaspoon ground cloves, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon salt
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the melted butter and light brown sugar together until well combined. Whisk in the warm molasses, followed by the egg and sour cream until smooth and well combined. Mix the dry ingredients into wet, alternating with the milk until just combined.½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, melted, ¾ cup (150 g) light brown sugar, 1 large egg, room temperature, ¼ cup (60 g) sour cream, room temperature, ¼ cup (59 ml) milk, room temperature
- Use a 3 tablespoon sized cookie scoop to scoop the muffin batter into each of the muffin liners. For the tall bakery style tops, alternate muffin cups. Top with coarse sugar if you like.2 - 3 tablespoons (25 - 38 g) coarse sugar for topping, optional
- Bake the ginger muffins for 17 -20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs and the tops bounce back quickly when lightly pressed.
- Cool the muffin pan in the pan for 5 - 10 minutes. Gently lift the molasses spiced muffins out of the pan and transfer to a cooling rack to cool to room temperature and enjoy!
Notes
Store: Place leftover gingerbread muffins in an airtight container for up to 5 days. If the molasses muffins are topped with a cream cheese frosting, the muffins must be stored in the fridge for the entire 5 days.
See Variations section of the blog post to make this recipe as mini gingerbread muffins and for topping suggestions such as lemon glaze, vanilla glaze or lemon cream cheese frosting.
Molasses: Use unsulphured molasses, not blackstrap for these muffins. If you must substitute, a dark honey would work the best.
did you make this recipe?tag @olivesnthyme on Instagram
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