Giant bakery-style gingerbread muffins are getting a lightly crunchy streusel topping, and then getting smothered with a sweet maple glaze. A holiday treat, something special, something fun, and a small and doable + very delicious holiday baking experience - are you in?
I love these muffins!! I made them at Christmas time last year and I have made them several times since! (As well as many of your muffins!)
-Jamie Hilly
Last week I took my favorite holiday flavors, ginger + maple and whipped them into little -okay fine fine fine - HUGE bakery-style gingerbread muffins. These beauties include a crunchy, sweet ginger-bread-y topping that is added right onto their adorable puffy tops and a quick maple glaze that takes their "WOW" factor over the top.
Full Disclosure: This recipe isn't my usual quick and easy recipe. This gingerbread muffins recipe, well.. this one is destined for greater things. These muffins are "impress your mother-in-law FANCY." These muffins were made to be served with a steaming cup of coffee and enjoyed at leisure. Aaaaaannnnddd, they take a little extra effort and a dirty dish or 2. That said, 100% satisfaction guaranteed.
These muffins are perfect to serve at a holiday breakfast gathering. Whip up this Easy Egg Casserole or some Festive Yogurt Parfaits and you've got yourself the perfect spread for holiday season visitors.
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Ingredients
- All purpose flour -I strongly recommend that you weigh your flour instead of using a measuring cup.
- Spices - ginger, cinnamon, cloves, salt (check for freshness)
- Baking soda - helps makes these muffins light and fluffy
- Molasses - select unsulfured molasses (most common) and avoid the black strap variety. The flavor is too strong for these muffins.
- Butter - should be unsalted and at room temperature
- Brown Sugar - I like dark brown sugar, but light can be subbed in a pinch
- Large Egg - should be room temperature
- Vanilla Yogurt - use a full fat version - this ingredient adds moisture to the muffins
- Milk - I used whole milk when testing this recipe
- Pecans- help achieve the perfect crunchy topping
- Oats - traditional rolled oats, not quick cooking
- Powdered Sugar - you can't make a glaze without it
- Maple Syrup - use pure maple syrup and avoid regular table syrup
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions For The Muffins
Step 1: Heat oven to 425 degrees and line a muffin pan with large paper liners. In a large bowl, combine dry muffin ingredients (flour, spices, salt and baking soda). Set aside.
Step 2: In a small sauce pan, heat the butter and molasses for 1 minute. Stir until combined and set aside.
Step 3: In a medium bowl, combine brown sugar, egg yogurt and milk. Pour into molasses/butter mixture and whisk until combined. Add wet mixture to the dry ingredients. Use a rubber spatula to mix until just combined.
Step 4: Use a large scoop to fill the muffin cups to the top. If using large lotus cupcake liners as shown in this picture, skip every other cup.
Instructions For The Streusel Topping
Step 1: In a mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, pecans, spices and butter. Scoop the mixture evenly over the muffin batter.
Step 2: Bake muffins for 5 minutes at 425 F, then reduce heat to 350F and continue to bake for about 15 minutes longer. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.
Instructions For The Quick Maple Glaze
Step 1: As muffins cool, prepare maple glaze by mixing powdered sugar, maple syrup and milk together in a small bowl.
Step 2: Use a fork to drizzle the glaze over the cooled muffins. Serve immediately or store in the fridge for 3 days or freezer for up to 3 months.
Hint: Make sure to check the expiration date on your spices to ensure that they are fresh. Old spices tend to lose their flavor and aroma (both of which are IMPORTANT when making these gingerbread muffins).
Substitutions
Brown Sugar - can be swapped at a 1-1 ratio for coconut sugar
Butter - canola, vegetable or coconut oil can be substituted in place of butter
All Purpose Flour - can be swapped at a 1-1 ratio for whole wheat flour
Vanilla yogurt - can be substituted for plain whole fat yogurt and a splash of vanilla extract
Variations
Simplified - the gingerbread muffins are delicious enough to stand alone without the pecan streusel topping and maple glaze if you are short on time.
Citrus - adding a ½ teaspoon of orange or lemon zest to the muffin batter adds a fun flavor twist
Equipment
Muffin Scoop - helps to ensure uniform muffins that bake evenly. I recommend a ¼ cup scoop for these gingerbread muffins.
Large Lotus Style Cupcake Liners - These are the exact muffin liners I used, but anything similar would work well.
Storage
Refrigerator: These muffins will remain fresh in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in an airtight container. To serve, allow muffins to come to room temperature or pop them in the microwave until warmed through.
Freezer: This gingerbread muffin recipe freezes well. I recommend not adding the maple glaze until just prior to serving. To freeze, arrange cooled muffins in a single layer on a baking tray. Freeze for 1-2 hours or until muffins are frozen through. Remove baking sheet from freezer and place frozen muffins in an airtight freezer bag or container. Muffins will store for up to 3 months. To serve, just pop them into the microwave and drizzle with maple glaze.
PrintRecipe
Bakery Style Gingerbread Muffins with Quick Maple Glaze
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins
Description
Giant bakery-style gingerbread muffins are getting a lightly crunchy streusel topping, and then getting smothered with a sweet maple glaze. A holiday treat, something special, something fun, and a small and doable + very delicious holiday baking experience - are you in?
Ingredients
FOR THE MUFFINS:
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 ¼ tsp ginger
- 1 ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp cloves
- ¾ cups molasses
- ½ cup butter (1 stick)
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- ¾ cup vanilla yogurt
- ¼ cup milk
FOR THE STREUSEL TOPPING:
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- ½ cup rolled oats
- ¾ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ginger
- ¼ cup butter, melted
FOR THE MAPLE GLAZE:
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 2 Tbs maple syrup
- ¾ Tbs milk
Instructions
FOR THE MUFFINS:
- Heat oven to 425 degrees and line 2 muffin tin with large lotus style baking cups.** Skip every other muffin cup to ensure each muffin has enough space to bake (you will have 6 muffins liners in each of 2 muffin tins).
- In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon and cloves. Set aside.
- In a small sauce pan, heat the molasses and butter until melted, stir frequently.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, egg, yogurt and milk. Add mixture to the heated molasses and butter. Whisk to incorporate and then pour contents of the pan over the dry ingredients. Use a rubber spatula to mix until just incorporated. Batter will be very thick.
- Fill the prepared muffin tin cups to the top using a ¼ cup muffin scoop.
FOR THE STREUSEL TOPPING:
- In a mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, pecans, oats, cinnamon, ginger and butter. Mix to combine. Scoop topping over the prepared muffins making sure to distribute evenly. Use the back of a spoon to gently press the mixture down.
- Bake muffins for 5 minutes at 425 F. Keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the temperature to 350 F and continue to bake for 13-15 more minutes. Muffins are finished when an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Do not over bake.
FOR THE MAPLE GLAZE:
- As the muffins cool, prepare your maple glaze by mixing powdered sugar, maple syrup and milk together in a small bowl. Add more powdered sugar if you want it thicker and additional milk if you want it thinner.
- Use a fork to drizzle the glaze over cooled muffins.
Notes
Lotus Style Muffin Liners are recommended for these muffins because they are LARGE. If you are using regular muffin liners instead, only fill muffin cups ¾ full.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Holiday
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Muffin
- Calories: 284
- Sugar: 25.1 g
- Sodium: 236.7 mg
- Fat: 8.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 48.5 g
- Protein: 5.2 g
- Cholesterol: 36.4 mg
FAQ - Gingerbread Muffins Recipe
No, molasses is one of the most important ingredients in gingerbread flavor. Swapping it out for maple syrup or other sweetener is not recommended.
Unsulfured molasses is sweet and squeezed from ripe sugar cane while blackstrap molasses has the lowest amount of sugar of all varieties. Unsulfured is more common and the variety you typically see in the grocery store. This is my favorite.
Megan
These would be amazing on Christmas morning.
Bailey Sissom
I agree!!!!
Long
Wow this look so delicious. I can't wait to try this recipe I will save this post. Thanks a lot!
Jamie Hilly
I love these muffins!! I made them at Christmas time last year and I have made them several times since! (As well as many of your muffins!) I’m new to being gluten-free and these recipes have made the transition so much easier!! Thank you!!