Buttery Gingerbread Maple Muffins.
I know I know. I just finished telling you that I “don’t really love gingerbread…”
And now this.
Muffins. Gingerbread muffins. Hellllllo hypocrite.
In my defense, I don’t love traditional gingerbread COOKIES. I especially don’t love them when they are crisp or hard. But once or twice a season, I want to get a gingerbread latte or something of the sort, I think just so I can feel really “in” the holiday mode and what not.
And when hot muffins can be spread with softened butter that melts into every crumb and crevice and you can eat that for breakfast everyday of December, well… then I kind of want gingerbread. Or I at least want to smell gingerbread. Strange?
I also think I’m into doing super nostalgic things because I’m about to have a kid and don’t know what’s happening with my life and still feel like a kid myself so I just want all the things to taste and feel and smell like thirty years ago. If that makes sense? I know you get me. You might be the only people who get me, but you get me!
Last night we put up our Christmas tree, making it the first year ever that we waited until AFTER Thanksgiving. Um, I’m pretty sure that the first year we were married I made Eddie put up the tree on my birthday weekend, which is the first weekend of November, which is ridiculous and asinine but I was just OMGTOOEXCITED for the holidays in our house.
After that year, I made it to the week or so before Thanksgiving and maybe occasionally the day after Thanksgiving, but never three or four days after. I feel like I’ve already missed out on four full holiday-filled, family room couch surfing, pillow face smashing naps.
Must make up for that.
Do you know that I do this weird blogging thing where I sort of have traditions, and every year since I began, I’ve shared an eggnog-laced recipe the Monday after Thanksgiving? It’s true it’s true and today… I broke the tradition.
Eggnog just didn’t sound good in anything (besides a latte) and I didn’t want to make garbage, so I figured that gingerbread was the next best thing. Plus, I actually do have an eggnog-laced recipe coming in the next few weeks, but it consists of booze and is quite the holidayish recipe, so I’m saving it for just a few days longer. I’m also quite obsessed with it and can’t wait for you to see.
Muffins seemed more “Monday” though because EVERYONE needs a muffin on Monday. I don’t care how much stuffing and potatoes you consumed in the last 72 hours.
Sidebar: it’s really incredible not having to or being able to suck your stomach in after eating Thanksgiving dinner.
But.
Because I’m not all over gingerbread like most people, I’d like to say that these are a toned down version of gingerbread muffins with a hint of maple. With crunchy raw sugar on top. And you should most definitely stir some vanilla beans into your butter before spreading it on top or in between two halves.
Doesn’t that sound like the most perfect Monday ever? Duh.
Gingerbread Maple Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 2/3 cup loosely packed brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 2/3 cup milk
- raw sugar for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with liners. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, baking pwoder, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and cloves. Set aside.
- In a larger bowl, whisk together the brown sugar and egg. Once combined, whisk in the molasses, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Whisk in the melted butter until fully combined. Stir in the dry ingredients until just combined – do not overmix! Before the dry ingredients are fully incorporated, stir in the milk until you have a smooth batter.
- Add the batter to the muffin cups, filling them up about 3/4 of the way full. Top each with a generous sprinkle of raw sugar. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the muffin tops are fully set and no longer jiggly.
Notes
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it’s worth being a hypocrite.
79 Comments on “Buttery Gingerbread Maple Muffins.”
I am not a gingerbread cookie person either. However, I do like decorating the houses…and then smashing them after Christmas.
I’m destructive like that,
But. These muffins, the only kind of destruction they need is by my face! Pinned!
I’m totally into gingerbread and these muffins would be no exception!
The sprinkle of sugar on the top makes them look pretty enough to hang on the tree! The only types of ginger bread that come into my house are ones that get made to use as decorations or the soft kind that get made into ginger bread bacon stuffing. However this year these are going to be on the breakfast menu!
I love gingerbread!! So these are fiiiiine by me! Yum!
I have a maple gingerbread recipe going up on my site on Wednesday. Further confirmation that we are both great minds. As if it was even required. Pass the vanilla bean butter!
I totally deserve a muffin on a Monday. But for today I think I might need a dozen of your gingerbread maple muffins. High five! :D
I’m the same way about gingerbread…I like it, but do not have an overwhelming love for it…but these gingerbread muffins… yes, those I can get down with…can I have a redo on breakfast and have one of these please?
Yum…these look amazing!
I’m totally a gingerbread person! As long as it isn’t SUPER crazy ginger-y, and I am very, very picky about gingerbread cookies too. I definitely can’t eat them by the stack though. Like one every few weeks…maybe.
These muffins though, yessssss.
I’m from Sweden and basically everything tastes like gingerbread over here at Christmas – however, I’m just like you, I don’t really like it.
BUT! Last Christmas I found this place that sold gingerbread smoothies, which seriously is the most amazing thing I’ve ever tasted! It’s frozen yoghurt, some milk, banana and gingerbread cookies that you throw in your mixer. Tastes like heaven!
Totally agreed on the not into gingerbread thing. Buuuut these muffins look like an excellent exception.
It looks so good! x
http://www.wild-cherrytree.com
So true about the gingerbread – the only way I’ll eat it is in tiny round traditional cookies for Dutch Christmas (Sinterklaas) on the 5th, and even then I mostly only eat them because of tradition! Maple vanilla bean raw sugar-topped, though?! SO for it!
I’m a huge fan of gingerbread, especially after living in Germany during the Christmas season a few years ago. These look perfect for Christmas morning breakfast!
I am dying for one of these! I love the maple/gingerbread combo!
That crunchy sugar crust is calling my name!!
These look so good! If you haven’t tried Cookie Butter from Trader Joe’s, go get some immediately!!! It’s made from crushed gingerbread/gingersnaps and it is seriously the most bonkers thing of all time.
These look DAMN GOOD! I LOVE gingerbread, and since I didn’t eat nearly enough pumpkin flavoured baked goods this Fall, I need to make up for it by eating gingerbread ALL SEASON LONG!!! Also, maple? Nice touch- yum!
These look great. I think I’m going to call them cupcakes and top with some sort of vanilla-maple buttercream.
Heck yes! I have a thing for muffins, these look awesome! I cannot resist a good maple recipe!
WOMAN.
I LOVE the look of these and can’t wait to make them!
But I’m confused by this direction: “stir in the mix until you have a smooth batter.”
What do you stir in the mix? Thanks!
I just made these and took a bite….soooo good! I love the crunchiness on top from the raw sugar. I’m going to throw some in the freezer so I can enjoy them throughout the holiday month (plus I don’t want to end up eating them ALL right now). Thanks for the recipe!
We made gingerbread cookies for Thanksgiving *guilty face* I know, i know, it was a little early to be making Christmas cookies, but they were so good!
These muffins look delicious, too! Ginger is a Christmas flavor!
Cannot WAIT to make these!!!! I knew there was a reason I impulse-bought that jar of molasses last week. Yay! P.S. I had to google the word “asinine” since I was certain it must have been a typo. Thanks for the vocab lesson. Now I just need to figure out how it’s pronounced since I don’t understand the upside down letters and accent marks on Dictionary.com.
Hard, crunchy gingerbread cookies – no thank you! But these muffins look and sound amazing! Just the right thing to kick off the holiday spirit.
I love this post and all your traditions! No I didnt know that or ever notice about your eggnog posts always being Monday after TG. How cool!
I am not really a big eggnog person but bought some to bake with. Now that’s done. So now I need your boozy recipe!
And these muffins. I happen to love molasses and therefore gingerbread (soft not crunchy!) is a favorite for me!
I’m not into hard gingerbread cookies either but I tried out the IKEA ready-made gingerbread dough over the weekend and the cookies come out wonderfully soft and chewy!
Lauren
dcgirlinpearls.com
I am a gingerbread fan so I’m thinking that I want to make these and serve them on the side at dinner, sort of like rolls. It’d be festive, right? Can I get away with that?
these muffins. this post. these pictures. everything here is perfect. I love!
I’m not a huge gingerbread person either, though the rest of the world seems to be all about it! But these… they really look incredible with the cracked tops and the crunchy sugar on top! The pics of them all topsy-turvy? Love them! Such cute muffins!
I’ve been craving gingerbread and these muffins fit the bill! I don’t like hard gingerbread cookies either – I prefer the soft, chewy ones.
Well, these sound fan-freaking-tastic. Go ahead, make all the kid things! You can make again for the kiddo one day ;)
I will take a dozen of these muffins straight to my mouth, please and thank you.
I am totally a gingerbread loving person! These photos are so so gorgeous. i want to try these asap!! :)
http://www.skinnybelle.com/
The month of December is all about Gingerbread for me. I need to get on it, starting with these muffins. They look Ah-mazing!
It’s my first Christmas being married…so I can relate to the being OHMYGOSH excited about Christmas in OUR house.
Also, I had to google what “asinine” meant lol….soooo thanks for making me smarter;)
These sound AMAZING! Pinning to try them!
Hahahaha! The best part of the post was “Sidebar: it’s really incredible not having to or being able to suck your stomach in after eating Thanksgiving dinner.” I’m dying. Also, I’m not a gingerbread cookie fan either, so this is right up my alley!
I’d hit that in the AM. :-)
OMG so impressed with how early you put up your tree. Doesn’t it get all dried out? My hubby is afraid of fires so we have to wait until second week of December. The season is so short…I say why wait? It’s the most magical time of the year. Let’s make it last. Oh yeah, these muffins look so yummy!
DREAM MUFFIN.
I do love gingerbread, but I don’t like the hard cookies either, it’s all about the chewy cookies for me. What I really love about gingerbread though is the molasses and the ginger, I am totally digging that in these muffins!
They look amazing! So amazing I think I have to go and make them right now. Thanks for sharing.
Totally get you. When I was about to have my first baby I ate cereal while watching saturday morning cartoons just to feel little again. But I would have preferred one of these muffins….with a side of juice box ;)
These muffins look amazing! I have never made anything gingerbread before (except a gingerbread latte) but I am definitely craving these right now!
I’m not all over gingerbread either, so these definitely sound like my cup of tea!
Any thoughts on replacing butter with coconut oil in this recipe?
Thanks for sharing this festive recipe, sounds brilliant and I can’t wait to try it out in the coming weeks.
I made these last night and they are ahhhmazing. My kids devoured them. Thank you for posting!