Spiced Gingerbread Muffins

Light and moist, these spiced gingerbread muffins include warming spices and rich molasses flavor.

Gingerbread is a broad term - it can be used to describe cookies or cakes. This recipe for a spiced gingerbread muffin makes a cake that is both moist and light and full of warming flavors. These muffins are topped with zesty lemon and yogurt glaze.

Jump to:

• The ingredients
• Instructions
• Serving and storing
• Related recipes
• Full Recipe

The ingredients

The ingredients in these ginger molasses muffins are listed in the recipe card below but here is a run-through with a few extra details. 

• Molasses - This gives the rich dark color and flavor. It’s important to know the type of molasses you are using. Blackstrap molasses is the strongest in flavour as it has been boiled three times.
• Butter - Melted butter brings moisture and a buttery flavor.
• Egg - One egg for structure.
• Spices and vanilla - Ginger, cinnamon, cloves and vanilla give the warming gingerbread touch.
• Buttermilk - The acidity in the buttermilk activates the baking soda and brings lightness to the muffin. Real buttermilk can be used or you can make your own by adding lemon juice to milk. (see recipe notes below)
• Flour, baking soda, salt - The structure and rising agents needed in the gingerbread muffin.

Gingerbread muffins without molasses

If you are wanting to make gingerbread muffins without molasses, you can substitute it with honey, golden syrup, or simply leave it out.

However, molasses does bring the most flavor and color to gingerbread.

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 428°F/220°C regular oven (or 392°F/200°C Fan) and grease or line a 12 muffin tray.

In a microwave or on the stove, melt the butter and molasses together and mix until well combined. Take a separate bowl and whisk together the flour, spices, salt, and baking soda.

To the melted molasses and butter, add in the egg, brown sugar, vanilla, and buttermilk and whisk until well combined.

Tip in the dry ingredients and use a spatula to fold the mixture together carefully until it makes a cohesive but slightly lumpy mix. Do not over mix it.

Spoon the mixture evenly into the lined muffin tray.

Bake the muffins at the initial hot temperature for 5 minutes, then turn the oven down to 356°F/180°C and continue baking for 15 minutes until a skewer inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean.

The initial hot oven temperature is to give the muffins their height, but it needs to be turned down for the remainder of the baking.

Once baked, remove the muffins from the tray and allow them to cool on a wire rack.

Glazing

The muffins are glazed with tangy yogurt and lemon glaze. The yogurt can be substituted with buttermilk too. Regular milk can be used as well but the tanginess in either yogurt or buttermilk gives a better contrast to the sweet muffin.

Mix together confectioners sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and yogurt into a pourable glaze. Drizzle it generously over the cooled muffins.

Serving and storing

Leftover muffins can be covered and stored at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

The muffins can also be frozen for up to three months, without the glaze.

Related recipes

For more gingerbread recipes, try this banana gingerbread loaf or Sourdough Gingerbread Cookies

This recipe is written using grams as the main measurement.

If you don't have a scale US* cup equivalents are also included, however, using a kitchen scale to measure grams will give the best, and most consistent results. *US cup sizes are smaller than metric cup sizes.