Gingerbread Muffins

Gingerbread Muffins – A simple recipe that is wonderful to share during the holidays with warming spicy flavor in a fluffy delicious muffin.

I know, I know, we just talked about gingerbread last week in the form of hot skillet gingerbread cookies.

And you are so right it probably is way too soon for me to be sharing with you another gingerbread recipe, but I just could not help myself. I can also get in a bit of a food rut from time to time in which I want to eat the same flavors over and over again and this just so happens to be one of those times. Please forgive me as I work…or shall I say eat…my way through this phase. I promise you that it will be over soon. It will actually be over with the next recipe that I will share with you on Wednesday because it will not contain gingerbread in any form or fashion.

Speaking of food ruts…have you ever found yourself in a bit of a rut period?

You know that time in your life when you seem to be faced with the same thing day in and day out? A time when you feel as though you are simply repeating the same day…or a version of the same day…over and over again! You are going through the motions and you just can’t seem to break out of the mundane cycle of what has become your life. Or perhaps you have just hit a point in your life where you are not preparing for the next level…or the next big thing.

When you are a toddler you have the entrance of elementary school to take you to the next level and from middle school to high school, and from high school to college. Then from college to graduation…grad school…or your first real job. There is always the ‘next’ but after all of that and you become an adult what is the’next’? Perhaps it’s getting married and having kids, a mortgage, and a dog, but what about after that then what’s next. I guess you have to create the ‘next’ for yourself at that point or perhaps the next phase just begins to look a little different.

Different than what you expected it to be and perhaps you just enjoy gingerbread so much that you want to eat it for two weeks straight and I think the point to all of this rambling is….that is okay too.

Gingerbread Muffins Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1 cup buttermilk (may substitute 1 cup milk mixed with 1 Tablespoon white vinegar)
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

Instructions:

Preheat oven 350 degrees F.

Spray muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray or use muffin liners instead.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and nutmeg until combined.

Using an electric mixer or hand whisk, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Add the molasses and mix until combined.

Add in the egg until well combined. Then alternate the buttermilk and flour mixture until all have been added to the batter and the mixture is fully combined. Careful not to over-mix or your muffins will end up dry and tough.

Pour the muffin mixture into the prepared muffin pan, filling until ¾ full, no worries about batter overflowing because it will not rise much.

Cook at 350 degrees F. for 15 to 20 minutes or until a cake tester comes out one of the muffins clean. If using multiple pans then test at least one muffin from each individual pan.

This recipe yields 18 large muffins and should be stored in an air-tight container. You may also prefer to use a loaf pan instead to make loaf bread.

For Vegan muffins – Substitute the egg for a flax egg (1 Tbsp. flax meal, 2.5 Tbsp. water, stir, and wait 5 minutes) and use original almond milk mixed with vinegar for buttermilk, and 1/2 cup of Earth Balance butter (or canola oil).

Have you got any comments, questions, or ideas for these Gingerbread Muffins? Share them in the comments below!