Sweetened with molasses and brown sugar, and packed with warm spices, these simple gingerbread muffins are perfect for the winter season! The addition of chopped crystallized ginger takes them from ordinary to extraordinary.

(This recipe was originally published in December 2018, but was updated with new photos and content in 2021).
Gingerbread in all its forms from cookies to cupcakes, lattes to loaves, is a welcome addition to the winter flavorscape. Even this humble spiced sweet can take many shapes and forms and have several variations in spice combinations. There are countless varieties hailing from different countries throughout the world, each with their own unique qualities.
These delightful tender-crumbed gingerbread muffins are packed with flavor, heavily spiced, and so comforting with a cup of coffee or tea in the morning or afternoon. In addition to a fragrant combination of warm, wintery spices, chopped crystallized ginger adds another element which allows these spiced muffins to truly sing.
Ingredient notes
- Molasses: Use regular (not blackstrap) molasses for this recipe. They are not interchangeable. The molasses is essential in getting the intense flavor and deep color of these festive wintery muffins.
- Buttermilk: The addition of buttermilk gives these seasonal muffins an extra layer of flavor, but if you don't have buttermilk you could substitute plain yogurt, sour cream, or regular milk mixed with a teaspoon of lemon juice instead.
- Light Brown Sugar: Store your light brown sugar in its tightly sealed original bag placed inside a sealed freezer bag with all the air pressed out. The key is to squeeze out all the air from both the original bag (do the best you can) and then put it in another airtight container. This will keep your brown sugar soft and fresh much longer!
- Spices: These gingerbread muffins include ground ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and black pepper (yes, black pepper!).
- Crystallized Ginger: Chopped crystallized ginger really sets these gingerbread muffins apart from the rest! It adds a sharp sweetness to every bite.
How to make it
Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Divide 14 paper muffin liners evenly between 2 standard muffins pans.
In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and the eggs. Add the buttermilk, molasses, brown sugar, and vanilla and whisk until smooth.
In another large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and black pepper. Stir in the chopped crystallized ginger.
Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and use a rubber spatula to carefully fold together until just combined.
Divide the batter equally among the prepared muffin pans. Do not fill the muffin wells more than two-thirds full. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until a wooden toothpick or skewer inserted into the center comes out clean with only a few dry crumbs clinging to it.
Remove the gingerbread muffins from the oven and let cool in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes. Carefully lift the muffins from the pan and transfer them to a wire rack to cool a little more. Dust the tops with confectioners’ sugar just before serving, if desired.
Please scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe (in a printable recipe card) including ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.
Expert tips
Because these gingerbread muffins have a lot of moisture, they sometimes collapse a bit in the center. To help avoid this, do not fill the muffin wells more than two-thirds full and do not open the oven to rotate the pans during baking. Even if your muffins collapse (mine often sink a bit in the center), they will still be delicious!
If you have a little extra batter or choose to make 12 muffins instead of 14 (perhaps you only have one muffin pan), use the extra batter to make gingerbread pancakes.
Be sure to dust with confectioners' (powdered/icing) sugar right before serving because if you do it far in advance it will simply absorb into the gingerbread muffins and diminish their snow-topped appearance.
Other recipes you may like
- Pain d'Épices (Bouchon Bakery French Gingerbread Loaf)
- Ontbijtkoek (Dutch Breakfast Cake)
- Perníčky (Czech Gingerbread Cookies)
- Pfeffernüsse (Iced German Spice Cookies)
- Basler Läckerli / Leckerli (Swiss Spiced Cookie Bars)
- Sweet Potato Bread Pudding
- Tarte aux Pommes (French Apple Tart)
- Apfelstrudel (Austrian Apple Strudel)
- Brown Butter Pumpkin Pie
Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also follow me on social media on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
Gingerbread Muffins
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons (
85 grams ) unsalted butter, melted - 2 large eggs
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) buttermilk
- ½ cup (120 ml) molasses
- ½ cup (100 grams) packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ⅓ cups (180 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons chopped crystallized ginger
- 1 teaspoon confectioners’ sugar (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Divide 14 paper muffin liners evenly between 2 standard muffins pans.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and the eggs. Add the buttermilk, molasses, brown sugar, and vanilla and whisk until smooth.
- In another large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and black pepper. Stir in the chopped crystallized ginger.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and use a rubber spatula to carefully fold together until just combined. Be careful not to overmix, or your muffins will be tough. The batter should still have a couple of streaks of flour.
- Divide the batter equally among the prepared muffin pans. Because these muffins have a lot of moisture, they are prone to collapsing a bit in the center. To prevent this, do not fill the muffin wells more than two-thirds full and do not open the oven to rotate the pans during baking.
- Bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until a wooden toothpick or skewer inserted into the center comes out clean with only a few dry crumbs clinging to it (as opposed to wet batter).
- Remove the muffins from the oven and let cool in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes. Carefully lift the muffins from the pan and transfer them to a wire rack to cool a little more.
- Dust the tops with confectioners’ sugar just before serving, if desired.
Notes
- If you don't have buttermilk you could substitute plain yogurt, sour cream, or regular milk mixed with a teaspoon of lemon juice instead.
- If you have a little extra batter or choose to make 12 muffins instead of 14, use the extra batter to make pancakes.
- Adapted from Muffins & Biscuits
Nutrition
*All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.*
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