Moist gingerbread muffins are light and fluffy spiced ginger molasses muffins that are a perfect for Christmas morning breakfast. These tasty muffins can be made from scratch in about 30 minutes!
Out of all of the holiday foods, the one that I eat the most year-round is gingerbread. I just love the combination of the molasses and the spices in it.
So, I came up with this Gingerbread Muffin recipe as a way to enjoy those flavors at breakfast. These guys are like light and fluffy gingerbread cupcakes, except, unlike cupcakes for breakfast, these muffins aren’t terribly unhealthy.
They are really delicious, though, and they’re just the thing for a festive breakfast.
“I made these today and they are so yummy! Will definitely be making them again!” – Mary Jo
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Flour: Be sure to either weigh the flour or aerate, spoon, and level it.
- Oil: I’ve used melted coconut oil, mild olive oil, and vegetable oil in this recipe.
- Brown sugar: You can use light brown sugar if you don’t have dark brown sugar.
- Molasses: Mild or robust molasses is ok. I don’t recommend blackstrap.
- Buttermilk: Regular or low-fat ok. You can also make a homemade buttermilk substitute.
How to make gingerbread muffins
Here you’ll find step-by-step photos showing how to make this recipe. The full recipe, including ingredients, is given below.
Step 1: Mix oil and sugar together.
Step 2: Whisk in molasses until combined.
Step 3: Whisk in the egg.
Step 4: Add the buttermilk, and whisk until combined.
Step 5: Stir in the flour mixture, and whisk in until just combined. Don’t overmix.
Step 6: Divide the batter in the muffin tins.
Step 7: Sprinkle the coarse sugar over the top of the batter.
Step 8: Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Recipe Tips!
- Spices: If you like stronger spice flavor, I recommend doubling the spices.
- Freezing: The muffins freeze well. To freeze, let the baked muffins cool to room temperature. Wrap the muffins in plastic wrap and place in a freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to 1 month.
Storage
The muffins should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature. The muffins will keep for 3-4 days when properly stored.
More gingerbread recipes!
If you’ve tried this gingerbread muffin recipe, don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below. I love to hear from people who’ve made my recipes!
You can subscribe to receive my latest recipe newsletters or follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest for even more delicious food.
Gingerbread Muffins
Equipment
- Muffin tin
Ingredients
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour properly measured
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup neutral oil
- 2/3 cup dark brown sugar packed
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 1 large egg
- 1 â…“ cups buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons sparkling sugar optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or grease with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together oil and brown sugar.
- Whisk in molasses.
- Add egg, and whisk to combine.
- Add buttermilk; whisk until well-combined.
- Add flour mixture, and whisk until just combined.
- Scoop into muffin cups. The cups will be full.
- Sprinkle the tops with coarse sugar, if using.
- Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Video
Notes
- Flour: Be sure to either weigh the flour or aerate, spoon, and level it. You can find the weights for the ingredients by clicking on “metric” immediately above the ingredients.Â
- Oil: I’ve used melted coconut oil, mild olive oil, and vegetable oil in this recipe.Â
- Brown sugar: You can use light brown sugar if you don’t have dark brown sugar.
- Molasses: Mild or robust molasses is ok. I don’t recommend blackstrap.
- Buttermilk: Regular or low-fat ok. You can also make a homemade buttermilk substitute.
- Nutritional values are estimates.Â
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?
Share it with me on Instagram @i_heart_eating and follow on Youtube @katedean and Pinterest @katedean for more!
Originally published 12/4/13. This post is regularly updated.
Reader Interactions
Love this recipe?
Share your thoughts below and let’s chat! Make sure to connect with me on your favorite social platform below and show me what you made!
Comments & Reviews
Arwen says
So very tasty! I know you recommended against blackstrap, but I love the intensity so I went with it. I’m also a spice fiend, so I added a quarter teaspoon of ground cloves and a half teaspoon of cardamom. Also, since it’s the season, I sprinkled them with green sugar, and they’re very pretty! Now I want to make another batch for my friends I’m going to see tomorrow :-) but the weather is frightful for driving and I don’t have enough buttermilk left… think I could top up with a bit of regular milk?
Kate says
Thank you! If you like the flavor of blackstrap, absolutely use it! Do you have lemon juice, vinegar, or plain yogurt? If so, you can easily make your own buttermilk substitute.
Arwen says
Sorry for my delay in replying! As it happens, the weather eased off so I was able to get more buttermilk. :-) I wanted to report back on my use of the green sugar, though: Unless one is going to serve the muffins *immediately*, I recommend against using this particular stuff (“Cake Mate” sugar). I think it wasn’t coarse enough. It unfortunately made the top quarter-inch or so of the muffins very, very sticky. They still tasted awesome, but the presentation was lacking. Oh well, experience is the best teacher. Next time, turbinado sugar!!
Ali says
Can you refrigerate the mix?
Kate says
Hi! I haven’t tried that, so I can’t say for certain. If you try it, I’d love to hear how it turns out!
Grace says
I’m wondering this too…
Mary Jo Stachowski says
I made these today and they are so yummy! Will definitely be making them again !
Kate says
Thank you! I’m happy to hear that you enjoyed the muffins. Thanks for commenting! =)
Charles Connel says
I made the muffins with gluten free flour. You are right to aerate the flour as it packs down when in the bag or container. They turned out very good and tasty. Got a beautiful rise on the muffins. Thanks for the recipe.
Kate says
Yay! I’m so glad that they turned out well and that the note about the flour was helpful. Thanks for commenting! =)
Leigh Ross says
Just made your gingerbread muffins and they are great! I was looking for something different on a cold winter day and these were perfect. They came out exactly as pictured, tender and smell good. Thanks.
Kate says
Thank you! I love that smell. =) I’m glad that you enjoyed the muffins, and I appreciate you coming back to comment!
Linda says
I made the muffins with the grands over the weekend. They loved them! Thank you.
Kate says
How fun! I’m glad that you guys enjoyed the muffins. =) Thank you for coming back to comment!
Maria says
They rose so beautifully in the oven! I loved them, so moist and favorable but not over-powering. I’ll be making them again!
Kate says
I’m so glad that you liked them! Thank you for taking the time to come back and comment!
Zane says
Thank you for this recipe! Turned out so fluffy and light! Great for winter weekend mornings! I didn’t have molasses, instead used more brown sugar and instead of coconut oil I used regular vegetable cooking oil, turned out good. Also I suggest to play with spices, I added some vanilla, clove, nutmeg :)
Kate says
Great! I’m glad you liked them! Thanks for the substitution tips! People always have questions about substitutions, and I’m sure that info will be helpful for someone else.
Shannon says
Can you make this in a bunt pan in stead of muffins?
Kate says
I’m not sure! I’ve never tried to make this as a bundt cake, so I’m afraid that I’m not much help on that.
Joanne Cunha says
I came across your website yesterday and I already made these muffins and the balsamic chuck roast. I love your recipes! Thanks!
Kate says
Thank you so much!! You made my day! Thank you for taking the time to come back and leave this comment! =)
Amy says
Not sure what went wrong, but when I made these, the batter turned out very lumpy with unhydrated flour (I think it would be better to add the dry ingredients into the wet ones instead of vice versa?) and the muffin texture was very tough and dense…. Almost inedible…
Kate says
If the batter was lumpy and the flour wasn’t mixed in, it sounds like you needed to mix the batter more to incorporate the ingredients. I’m guessing that that’s why they were tough and dense, too. You don’t want to over-mix muffin batter, but you do want the ingredients to be incorporated.
I’m sorry if it wasn’t clear, but you should have added the dry ingredients (flour mixture) into the wet mixture in step #7.
Katie says
Hi Kate! I really want to make these this Christmas, but I prefer to eat dairy-free. Could almond milk or rice milk be subbed instead?
Kate says
Hi! =) Yes! I haven’t tried rice milk, but I do know that unsweetened almond milk will work just fine in these muffins.
Katie says
Awesome! Thanks, Kate. I’ll definitely give these a try. :-)
Kate says
Great! I hope you enjoy them! =)
Jessica's Dinner Party says
Love the way your muffins came out! The crackle on top looks so delicious.
Kate says
Thanks so much!! =)
Donna says
Made these muffins Christmas morning. Delicious! Plus, it makes the house smell like the holidays while they’re baking. I didn’t have coconut oil so I swapped it for canola. Still came out great. Perfect with coffee. :)
Kate says
I’m so glad you enjoyed them! They really do make the house smell amazing. =) And thanks for the tip about the canola oil! I usually get questions about substitutions, so I appreciate the tips.
Carrie says
Hi, I was wondering what I can substitute for coconut oil in this recipe. Will applesauce work like it does in other baked goods, or should I use vegetable or canola oil?
Kate says
Butter or oil would both work as substitutes for the coconut oil. If you use butter, you’ll need 1/3 cup butter to equal the 1/4 cup of coconut oil. If you have any other questions, just let me know.
Heather @ French Press says
I love muffins, and gingerbread is perfect for this time of year
Sue Sharpe (@suesharpe1) says
I was directed here by @cooksipgo (Dave Cole) – Very he glad that he mentioned you on his post – they look delicious!
Kate says
Thanks!! And thanks so much for coming by! =)
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
These muffins would be perfect for Christmas morning Kate – well, actually any morning :) I love gingerbread and these muffins look just perfect!
Kate says
Thanks so much, Trish!! =)
Melanie @ Carmel Moments says
I’m totally wanted gingerbread something now. These sound fabulous.
Kate says
I think gingerbread anything is always great! Thanks!! =)
Julia says
I love how these turned out! I will be pinning and trying them!