Prep Time: 15 mins | Cook Time: 20 mins | Total Time: 50 mins | Yield: 12-14 muffins
These gingerbread muffins are topped with a tangy lemon glaze and have a gorgeous crackly top. For unsweetened gingerbread muffins, you may omit the icing.
Ingredients
Gingerbread Muffins:
¾ c (234 grams) dark molasses
½ c (1 stick or 115 grams) of unsalted butter
2 and ⅔ c (334 grams) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
1 and ½ tsp baking soda
½ c (120 grams) plain yogurt or sour cream, at room temperature
½ tsp ground cloves
½ c (100 grams) packed light or dark brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
½ c (120ml) milk, at room temperature
optional: coarse sugar for sprinkling
¼ tsp salt
1 and ½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 and ¼ tsp ground ginger
Lemon Glaze:
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp (15ml) milk
1 c (120 grams) confectioners’ sugar (or more, as needed)
How to make Gingerbread Muffins with Sweet Lemon Glaze
Step 1: Prepare the oven. Preheat it to 425 degrees F or 128 degrees C. Using butter or nonstick spray, grease a muffin pan. Alternatively, you can line the muffin pan with muffin liners. Set aside.
Step 2: Into smaller pieces, cut the butter. Heat the butter and molasses in a large microwave-safe bowl for about a minute on high. Then, stir well until combined. Keep this aside until slightly cool.
Step 3: Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves until well blended.
Step 4: Stir in the brown sugar, egg, yogurt, and milk into the molasses/butter mixture until all the ingredients are well incorporated. Into the dry ingredients, pour the wet ingredients and mix well until just combined and the batter is thick and a bit lumpy.
Step 5: Among the prepared pan, divide the batter, filling to the top. On top, sprinkle the coarse sugar (optional). Place in the preheated oven and bake for about 5 minutes. While the muffins are still in the oven, adjust the oven temperature to 350 degrees F or 177 degrees C and continue baking for another 15 to 16 minutes or until the centers are set and the tops are cracked. Remove from the oven when done and let the muffins cool in the pan for about 5 to 10 minutes before glazing.
Step 6: In the meantime, prepare the glaze. In a medium bowl, whisk the glaze ingredients. To thicken the glaze, add more confectioners’ sugar. Or milk to thin it out. On top of the warm muffins, drizzle the glaze.
Step 7: You can keep leftover muffins either iced or plain for up to 2 days at room temperature or up to 1 week in the fridge. Or store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Before serving, let the frozen muffins thaw in the fridge or on the counter.
Notes:
For this recipe, I use dark molasses. Although, you can also use mild or light molasses.
For these muffins, I used whole milk. But you are also welcome to use lower-fat milk or non-dairy.
If making jumbo-size muffins(6-7 muffins), bake in a 6-count jumbo muffin pan, adding 26 to 30 total times to the baking pan. Bake for 425 degrees F in the first 5 minutes of baking, then adjust the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and continue baking for another 21 to 25 minutes. Or bake for about 11 to 12 minutes at 350 degrees F for the whole time if making about 50 mini muffins.