Easy Gingerbread Muffins With Cinnamon Sugar Glaze

Name: Easy Gingerbread Muffins With Cinnamon Sugar Glaze
Prep time: 12 min
Cook time: 18 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 2 ½ cups Flour; 1 teaspoon Baking Soda; ¼ teaspoon Salt; 1 ½ teaspoons Cinnamon; 1 ¼ teaspoons Ginger; ½ teaspoon Cloves; ½ cup Vegetable Oil; ½ cup Blackstrap Molasses; 1 tsp Vanilla Extract; ½ cup Brown Sugar; 2 Eggs (size large); ⅓ cup Sour Cream; ½ cup Milk; ¾ cup Powdered Sugar; 1 teaspoon Cinnamon; 2 Tablespoons Milk

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Last Updated on January 13, 2023 by Sabrina Currie

These tender, moist gingerbread muffins will have your house smelling warm and cozy in just 30 minutes. A perfect breakfast on a cold winter morning or as a sweet bite with afternoon coffee, these glazed muffins will get you in the holiday spirit.

One dark brown muffin on a stack of white dessert plates with a spoon above, drizzling icing over the top.

Why I Love This Recipe

These gingerbread muffins are a quick and easy take on my mom's gingerbread cake, full of warming spices like cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Molasses and the secret ingredient, sour cream, adds rich color and flavor and ensures they are tender and moist. Enjoy gingerbread for breakfast, school lunch and afternoon coffee!

Want some more muffin ideas? Strawberry Rhubarb Oatmeal Muffins are the most popular muffin on this site, followed by Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins, Banana Rhubarb Muffins and Zucchini Muffins.

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Why I Love This Recipe
Recipe Ingredients
How To Video
Step-by-Step Instructions
Expert Tips
Recipe FAQs
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Recipe Ingredients

I love recipes that use ingredients I already have in the cupboard and gingerbread muffins tick that box. Check out these simple ingredients!

Small bowls of all the ingredients with text overlay. Ingredients include flour, brown sugar, oil, molasses, powdered sugar, ginger, cinnamon and eggs.

Molasses - Molasses is a key ingredient in gingerbread. There are many kinds of molasses. I choose to use blackstrap molasses (dark molasses) which is rich in flavor and nutritious. You can use an equal amount of other types of molasses if you prefer. The color and flavor is directly reflected by the style of molasses you use.
Spices - For these yummy gingerbread spiced muffins, I've used ginger, cloves and cinnamon.
Sour Cream - Using sour cream adds moisture, acidity and a subtle extra richness. The acidity works with the baking soda, making bubbles that keep this muffin batter light. A full fat, plain yogurt can be substituted if you prefer.

See recipe card for quantities.

Closeup of one gingerbread muffin with a bite taken out of it showing the fine, moist crumb inside.

How To Video

Let me walk you through this easy recipe!

Step-by-Step Instructions

Moist and tender gingerbread muffins are an easy recipe. Whip these up in just half an hour and enjoy the delicious fall scent. These muffins are pure cold-weather comfort.

Top Tip: If time allows, take eggs, milk and sour cream out of the fridge and allow them to come to room temperature ahead of time.

Glass bowl with white flour and brown spices poured in.

Step 1. Preheat oven to 350º. Grab a medium bowl and add the all purpose flour, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, and cloves.

Glass bowl has flour and spices mixed together for an even light cream colored dry mixture.

Step 2. Mix these dry ingredients together well and set aside.

Yellow and black mixture in large glass measuring cup.

Step 3. In a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer), beat oil, molasses, and brown sugar together until smooth.

White sour cream is added to the yellow egg and black molasses in the glass cup.

Step 4. Add eggs and sour cream and beat again until well mixed.

Wet ingredients in a measuring cup are all mixed together and a dark brown color now.

Step 5. Add half the flour mixture into the large bowl of wet ingredients and stir just until mixed.

White milk added to top of dark brown mixture.

Step 6. Pour in half the milk, stir again.

Dry white mixture has been poured on top of dark wet mixture but not stirred in yet.

Step 7. Repeat with remaining dry ingredients and milk.

The final batter is well mixed and a light brown color in the large glass measuring cup.

Step 8. Mix gently just until combined. A few small remaining lumps are fine. The less you mix, the more tender and fluffy your muffins will turn out.

Brown muffin batter in a 12 cup muffin tin.

Step 9. Prepare a 12 cup muffin tin with muffin liners. Divide the batter between 12 paper-lined, or greased muffin cups.

Bake muffins for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center the muffins comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes in tin, then remove and cool on wire rack.

Gingerbread muffin on a stack of white plates with a bite out of it.

Step 10. If using glaze, drizzle it over the muffins after they've cooled 15 minutes or longer. Serve right away or store fully cooled gingerbread muffins in an airtight container.

If you want to freeze the muffins, wrap them well in plastic wrap before storing in a freezer bag or sealed container in the freezer. Thaw at room temperature and then warm in the oven or microwave if desired.

Make The Cinnamon Sugar Glaze

Cinnamon and white icing sugar in a glass bowl.

Step 1. In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar and cinnamon.

Cinnamon and icing sugar have been whisked together in the glass bowl.

Step 2. Whisk it together well.

A hand pouring a small cup of milk into the cinnamon sugar mixture.

Step 3. Pour in milk.

Cinnamon sugar and milk have been whisked into a pale orange brown glaze. There are still a few lumps in it.

Step 4. Whisk again, until smooth and drizzle over baked muffins.

Expert Tips

For a slightly crunchy top, sprinkle coarse sugar or turbinado sugar over the tops before baking. 2-3 tablespoons is enough to sprinkle over all 12 muffins.
For chocolate lovers, add in 1 cup of chocolate chips to the batter before baking.
Enjoy these with a hot cup of coffee or a refreshing glass of milk.

5 glazed brown muffins on a cooling rack with a white bowl of glaze beside.

Recipe FAQs

What makes a muffin light and fluffy?

There is a lot of science involved in baking. These muffins are made light and fluffy with the combination of baking soda and acid (the sour cream). These react together then the heat from the oven expands the air bubbles and bakes them into place.
Two more tips for the tall muffin tops are to start with room temperature ingredients and to avoid overmixing the batter.

Can I make muffin batter the night before?

Yes! This batter works well made ahead. Be sure to cover it well to prevent losing moisture and keep it refrigerated. Take the batter out and fill paper-lined muffin tin and bake as usual.

If you have any questions or comments, you can find me on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook. I try to answer any recipe related questions quickly as I know you might be in the middle of making it.

Also check out my FREE PRINTABLE meal planner to make menu planning and grocery shopping a breeze and my shopping guide. And if you like this recipe, I would love it if you give it a star rating in the recipe card.

Cheers and happy cooking, Friends! Sabrina