Get into the holiday spirit with a batch of gingerbread muffins. Perfect for breakfast, snacking, or dessert, these tender muffins are filled with holiday spices and topped with a dusting of confectioner's sugar.
Heather's recipe summary
Flavor/texture: Tender, lightly-sweetened muffins filled with cozy spices and molasses, topped with a dusting of confectioner's sugar.
Easy to make: Batter is mixed with a spoon (no need for a hand mixer or stand mixer) and muffins are ready in about 30 minutes!
Yield: 12 muffins
Similar to: Gingerbread Loaf and Gingerbread Cupcakes
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Ingredients and substitutions
- Brown sugar - Light or dark brown sugar will work in this recipe. I use light brown sugar because it's always on hand in my pantry.
- Molasses - I recommend Grandma's Original Molasses (a common brand found in grocery stores). Molasses is a must when baking gingerbread and gives it a distinctive flavor. Light or dark molasses will work in this recipe - dark molasses adds a stronger flavor.
How to make gingerbread muffins
- Stir oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until combined. Stir in warm molasses mixture until combined. Sift together dry ingredients, make a well in the center, and pour in wet ingredients. Stir until just combined.
- Portion batter about ¾ full into a muffin tin lined with paper liners.
- Bake at 350F for 17-20 minutes or until muffins pop back when gently pressed on top.
- Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before dusting tops with confectioner's sugar.
Heather's Top Tip
For accurate results every time, use a kitchen scale to measure flour by weight. If you don't have a kitchen scale, use the spoon and level method. Stir the flour (especially if it's been packed down in a bag/container), then gently spoon into the measuring cup, leveling off the top with a knife. Scooping with a measuring cup compacts flour into the cup and adds up to 25% extra to the recipe, resulting in dry, bland baked goods.
Tips and tricks
Use a thermometer - Use a thermometer inside your oven to make sure your oven is set to the proper temperature for any given recipe. Here's what I use: Rubbermaid Instant Read Oven Thermometer
To prevent dry muffins - If your muffins are dry straight from the oven, it's caused by overbaking or substituting ingredients. When baked just the right amount of time, your muffins will turn out soft, moist, and tender. Keep a close eye on your muffins and don't rely on time alone. Some ovens can run hotter or colder than the next oven, so the time that worked for me may not work for you.
Test for doneness - Gently press on the top of a muffin. If it pops right back, they're done. If an indent is left, your muffins need more time. For best results, use an instant-read thermometer. Muffins are done when they reach 200 degrees Fahrenheit in the center.
Allow muffins to cool completely - Dry muffins can also be caused by unwrapping or slicing while still hot. The wrapper may also stick to your muffins while they're still hot.
Frequently asked questions
Yes! This is the same recipe as my reader-favorite gingerbread loaf recipe, but in muffin form. Pour your batter into a lightly greased or parchment lined 9x5 loaf pan. Then, bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 50 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean/with dry crumbs, or the center reaches 200 to 205 degrees Fahrenheit when tested with an instant-read thermometer.
To freeze, you'll need a freezer safe container a gallon-sized plastic freezer bag. Carefully layer your muffins into your container or bag, using layers of wax paper between each row of muffins (to prevent sticking). Muffins will keep for three months or more in the freezer.
Homemade muffins will stay moist for about 3 days before they'll need to be eaten, frozen, or discarded. Store in a tightly sealed, freezer safe container at room temperature.
1. The biggest cause of dry muffins is overbaking. Every oven runs slightly different, so I recommend checking on your muffins periodically about 2-3 minutes early just in case your oven runs a little hot.
2. Don't reduce or omit any of the moisture-adding ingredients. This includes eggs, sugar, molasses, and oilr.
3. Measure your flour using a kitchen scale for best results. Excess dry ingredients added to the recipe can cause your muffins to turn out dry. If you don't have a scale, use the spoon and level method instead.
Gingerbread muffins are great as a morning treat with coffee or tea. Pair them with some fresh fruit like apple and orange slices and some candied pecans. They also make an excellent less-sweet holiday dessert. As a garnish, sprinkle some confectioner's sugar on top or add a dollop of whipped cream. If serving warm, a smear of whipped honey butter makes a great addition.
Yes, I've updated this recipe to call for oil instead of butter. Since gingerbread has such a strong flavor, there's no need to prepare it with butter (the main benefit of butter is the flavor it adds to baked goods). Oil helps keep your muffins moist for longer than butter and makes the muffins easier to prepare.
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📖 Recipe
Gingerbread Muffins
Ingredients
- ½ cup (100 g) vegetable oil
- ½ cup (107 g) brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup (170 g) molasses
- ½ cup (114 g) boiling water
- 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons confectioner's sugar, for dusting, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Line a muffin pan with paper liners and set aside.
- In a large bowl, add oil, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract. Stir to combine.
- In a small bowl, add molasses and boiling water. Stir until combined. Add to liquid mixture and stir to combine.
- In a separate bowl, whisk (or sift) together the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add wet ingredients. Stir until just combined.
- Portion batter into muffin pan, filling about ¾ full. Bake for about 17-20 minutes, or until muffins pop back when gently pressed on top. If an indent is left, your muffins need more time.
- Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before dusting tops with confectioner's sugar (optional).
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- Storage: Store cooled muffins in a tightly sealed container at room temperature. Homemade muffins will keep for about 3 days.
- Freezing: Muffins can be frozen in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months. Set frozen muffins on counter top for 30 minutes to bring to room temperature.
Hi! My name is Cindy Lou and I love to bake. I have been baking and cooking since I was nine years old. I am 73 years young and still baking. I was self-taught from cookbooks I got from the library. This was before computers. Mother could not cook or bake. I had a recipe for Blueberry Gingerbread cupcakes and after all the years it got lost. I would like to use your recipe for this to be adapted to include the blueberries. My only concern is that will it be too wet after adding the berries. Any tips appreciated.
Hi Cindy Lou, blueberries sound like a fun addition! Here's what I'd do: add about 1.5 cups fresh, small blueberries and fold them in just before pouring the batter into the liners. Small berries distribute evenly throughout the batter and are less likely to sink. You'll probably get about 15 muffins with addition of blueberries. Other than that, follow the recipe as written above. If you give it a try, let us know how it goes!
Easy and delicious! I added lemon glaze to the muffins. Together, they tasted fabulous.
I substituted Splenda Brown sugar, 1/4 cup , to reduce sugar. Then added 2 Tbsp of finely copped candied ginger. So good🤩🤩🤩
Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately there is no substitution advice on the bottle. I will keep your additional info in mind when making the bread. Thanks a heap!
Sounds delish! I am trying to use some fresh ginger from a bottle. So basically, it’s not 100% fresh, but it is also not dry. Could you recommend how much of that to substitute for the dry Ginger?
Hi Renee, ¼ teaspoon of ground ginger is the equivalent of one teaspoon of peeled and grated fresh ginger. I'd guess that fresh bottled ginger would use the same measurements as fresh. Does it have any substitution directions on the bottle's label, by chance?