Gingerbread Muffins with Molasses Glaze: Cozy Holiday Treats

Start your holiday morning with a batch of cozy Gingerbread Muffins—perfect for Christmas breakfast. These bakery-style muffins are warmly spiced and finished with a sweet maple glaze that complements the ginger and molasses for an irresistible treat.

If you enjoy gingerbread cookies or a gingerbread loaf, these gingerbread muffins will quickly become a favorite. They’re tender, fluffy, and have that classic dome top you expect from bakery muffins. I like adding a maple glaze for extra flavor—it’s a small touch that makes a big difference.

The scent while these bake fills the house with warm holiday aromas—think cinnamon, ginger, and molasses. The recipe is straightforward and reliable, yielding muffins with a tender crumb and a sky-high dome. They’re especially lovely served warm with the maple glaze drizzled on top.

Ingredient Notes

• Flour – Pastry flour creates a more tender, melt-in-your-mouth muffin thanks to its lower protein content. All-purpose flour also works if that’s what you have.
• Spices – A warm blend of cinnamon, ground ginger, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg gives classic gingerbread flavor.
• Leaveners – Baking powder and baking soda produce the lift needed for fluffy muffins and domed tops.
• Sugar – A combination of brown sugar and granulated sugar balances richness and sweetness.
• Buttermilk – Adds flavor and reacts with the baking soda to help the muffins rise.
• Molasses – A little molasses provides the deep, slightly smoky gingerbread character.
• Vegetable oil & melted butter – Oil keeps muffins moist while butter adds flavor.
• Sour cream – Tenderizes the crumb for soft, tender muffins.
• Eggs – Bind and add structure, moisture, and lift.
• Optional crunchy sugar – Coarse or turbinado sugar on top adds a pleasant crunch.

Maple Glaze Ingredients

• Powdered (confectioners’) sugar
• Heavy cream
• Vanilla extract
• Maple extract (or maple syrup)
• Pinch of salt

Substitutions

• No molasses? Replace with honey or maple syrup in the same amount.
• Use coconut oil instead of vegetable oil for a different flavor profile.
• No buttermilk? Make a quick substitute by adding 1 tablespoon lemon juice to 1 cup milk and letting it sit for a few minutes.
• Dairy-free/vegan option: swap plant milk plus lemon juice for buttermilk, use vegan sour cream and butter, and replace eggs with flax eggs.
• Gluten-free option: use a 1:1 gluten-free baking flour blend.

Tips

• Use room-temperature eggs, buttermilk, and sour cream so the batter mixes smoothly.
• Adjust glaze thickness by adding more or less cream—less for thicker, more for thinner.
• Try adding orange or lemon zest to the glaze for a bright, citrusy contrast to the warm spices.
• Measure flour accurately—ideally with a kitchen scale—to avoid dense muffins.

How to make Gingerbread Muffins

• Whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, spices, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.

• In a separate bowl, whisk brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, melted butter, buttermilk, vegetable oil, and molasses for 1–2 minutes. Add sour cream and whisk until smooth.
• Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. Cover and refrigerate the batter for 1–2 hours to help the muffins rise higher and develop a tender crumb.

• Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Line a muffin pan with liners in every other cup. Scoop about 1/3 cup batter into each lined cup and sprinkle tops with turbinado sugar if desired.
• Bake at 425°F for 5 minutes, then lower the oven to 350°F (175°C) and bake 12–14 minutes more, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let muffins cool completely.

• While muffins bake, whisk together powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla, maple extract (or syrup), and a pinch of salt to make a smooth maple glaze.
• When muffins are cool, drizzle the glaze on top and serve.

Storage

Store cooled muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. For longer storage, freeze the muffins in freezer bags for up to 6 weeks; thaw and rewarm before serving.

More Muffin Recipes

• Double Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Bakery Style Blueberry Muffins
• Pumpkin Muffins
• Corn Muffins with Cinnamon Maple Butter

Recipe FAQs

This post was created in partnership with Bob’s Red Mill. Opinions are my own—thank you for supporting partners that help make these recipes possible.