These easy Gingerbread Muffins are like the holidays baked into a treat in under 30 minutes! They're filled with warm spices and molasses, topped with a sprinkle of coarse sugar, and are so fluffy and moist.
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Molasses is such a distinct flavor in many holiday dessert recipes, like my ginger molasses cookies and Christmas cookie truffles. These bakery-style gingerbread muffins let you have that delicious holiday flavor for breakfast!
This tasty muffin recipe is sponsored by Lifeway Kefir. It uses their Organic Plain Whole Milk Kefir, which helps keep them extra moist while adding a boost of probiotics and other nutrients! So, make these molasses muffins and enjoy them all week long!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- These spiced ginger muffins come together in less than 30 minutes!
- It is packed with the perfect amount of holiday spices.
- Molasses adds a unique flavor that isn't too strong. It will remind you of eating gingerbread cookies!
- They're a great addition to your holiday brunch table!
Recipe Ingredients
You'll need the following ingredients to make the best Gingerbread Muffins:
Ingredient Notes:
- Cinnamon, ginger, and cloves give these muffins their distinct holiday spice flavor.
- Lifeway Organic Plain Whole Milk Kefir adds moisture and a slight tang to balance the sweetness in the muffins.
- Molasses is the secret ingredient that pairs with warm spices to create that iconic gingerbread flavor. I like to use Grandma's Original Unsulphured Molasses, but any kind you can get your hands on should work. Molasses can typically be found in the baking aisle at grocery stores.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions & Variations
- Add cream cheese icing or a lemon glaze, like in my lemon donuts recipe, for a more decadent version. You'll be amazed by how well gingerbread and lemon complement each other!
- Try adding your favorite mix-ins to the batter, like chocolate chips or cinnamon chips!
- Top the muffin batter with red and green sugar sprinkles before baking to make them extra festive for Christmas!
- Bake the batter in regular or mini muffin tins for a smaller version.
This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you replace or add any ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below!
How to Make Gingerbread Muffins
Step 1: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and spices.
Step 2: In a separate bowl, mix together the brown sugar, vegetable oil, kefir, egg, and molasses until combined.
Step 3: Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined.
Step 4: Fill jumbo muffin liners with the batter. Sprinkle coarse sugar over the tops. Bake the muffins at 425°F for 5 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350°F for the remainder of the bake time.
Expert Baking Tips
- Don't over-mix the batter and don't over-bake the muffins to ensure they turn out moist and fluffy.
- Use a digital scale to measure the dry ingredients in grams for the best results. Packing flour into cups can result in dry, flavorless muffins.
- Save time and buy jumbo baking cups, or make your own muffin liners with parchment paper.
- Enjoy these gingerbread muffins with your morning coffee or tea, or drizzle them with cream cheese glaze and have them for dessert!
Common Questions
Vegetable oil and kefir help keep these muffins moist and fluffy.
I like to use Grandma's unsulphured molasses. Sulphured molasses can have a chemically taste because it is treated for preservation unlike unsulphured molasses, so I recommend using unsulphured.
Lifeway's organic kefir can be found at lifewaykefir.com or in the dairy section of most grocery stores around the U.S.
Storage
Room Temperature
Store cooled gingerbread muffins in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Freezing Instructions
Freeze fully cooled muffins in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months.
Reheating Instructions
Let the frozen muffins thaw at room temperature or in the microwave for 15-45 seconds.
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📖 Recipe
The Best Bakery-Style Gingerbread Muffins
Equipment
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring spoons
- Whisk
- Spatula
- Jumbo Muffin Pan with liners
Ingredients
- 2⅓ cups (291.67 g) all-purpose flour weighed in grams or spooned and leveled
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (118.29 ml) vegetable oil or other neutral oil
- ½ cup (100 g) brown sugar packed, light or dark
- 1 large egg room temperature
- ½ cup (118.29 ml) Lifeway Organic Plain Whole Milk Kefir room temperature
- ½ cup (168.5 g) unsulphured molasses
- 1 tablespoon coarse sugar optional for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a jumbo muffin pan with large parchment baking cups.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the vegetable oil, brown sugar, egg, kefir, and molasses.
- Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ones just until the flour streaks disappear.
- Fill the jumbo muffin liners evenly with batter. Sprinkle coarse sugar over the tops (optional).
- Bake on the middle rack at 425°F for 5 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350°F without opening the oven door. Continue baking until a toothpick comes out clean (about 15-20 more minutes; 20-25 minutes total).
- Let the muffins cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
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Delicious muffins! They taste just like a gingerbread cookie. My local grocery store didn’t have whole milk kefir so I used some of the heavy cream I already had in the fridge and they still came out great! 🙂