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    Home » Recipes » Muffins

    Published on: November 13, 2014 by Janice Lawandi; Updated on: December 13, 2023 5 Comments

    Cranberry Gingerbread Muffins

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    Serving cranberry gingerbread muffins with butter and tea

    Learn how to make the best cranberry gingerbread muffins with this easy recipe. These Christmas muffins are flavoured with molasses, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg for a festive breakfast treat in the winter that tastes just like gingerbread cookies, but in muffin form!

    Cranberry gingerbread muffins served on a plate with butter.
    Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

    It doesn't feel like winter if there's no gingerbread. The gingerbread could come in the form of gingerbread granola, gingerbread cookie cut-outs, and even muffins like these. I associate gingerbread with fall–winter more than Christmas.

    Jump to:
    • Ingredients for Gingerbread Muffins
    • Substitutions and Variations
    • How to Make Christmas Muffins
    • Tips for Baking with Cranberries and Other Berries
    • Muffin FAQs
    • More Christmas Baking Recipes
    • 📖 Recipe

    Ingredients for Gingerbread Muffins

    You don't need much to tackle most muffin recipes and this recipe is no exception! Here's what you need to make these Christmas muffins:

    Ingredients to make gingerbread-flavoured Christmas muffins with cranberries.
    • Flour—all-purpose is ideal, or you can try a mixture of whole wheat and all-purpose, but this will affect the texture a little.
    • Warm spices—use the same spices you may add to gingerbread cutout cookies, such as ground cinnamon, ground cloves, ground ginger, and ground nutmeg
    • Leavening agents—specifically both chemical leaveners, baking powder and baking soda. Read about baking soda versus baking powder if you aren't sure what the difference is between them!
    • Salt—fine kosher salt like Diamond Crystal is what I use. If you use a different salt that has more or less sodium per gram, you will likely have to adjust the quantities so the muffins aren't overly salty or under-salted
    • Butter—either salted or unsalted will work, though if your salted butter has a lot of salt in it, you may have to adjust the salt in the recipe
    • Sugar—granulated sugar or light brown sugar will work!
    • Molasses—use fancy molasses, also called baking molasses or light molasses
    • Eggs—use large eggs preferably because smaller eggs may lead to dryer muffins
    • Sour cream provides moisture and fat, leading to moist, tender muffins
    • Vanilla extract to enhance the sweetness and the flavour of the muffins
    • Cranberries—fresh or frozen will work here. If using frozen, incorporate them into the batter when still frozen. Dried cranberries also work!

    Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and quantities.

    Substitutions and Variations

    These Christmas muffins are simple to make yet so moist and flavourful because of the specific ingredients. Here are a few careful places you can make substitutions and variations:

    • Molasses—use a light baking molasses or black treacle (if in Europe)
    • Cranberries—fresh or frozen will work here. If using frozen, incorporate them into the batter when still frozen. Dried cranberries also work!
    • Sour cream—full-fat Greek yogurt can also work in this recipe
    • Spices—you can replace the mix of spices with pumpkin pie spice mix, gingerbread spice mix, or even apple pie spice mix
    • Chocolate—add white chocolate chips or chopped white chocolate to the muffin batter. I know this would taste great based on this recipe for ginger cookies with white chocolate. Dark chocolate may also work if you prefer.

    How to Make Christmas Muffins

    Christmas muffins are easy to make. You don't need any special equipment, just two bowls and a whisk!

    Whisking together the wet ingredients of a gingerbread muffin batter with melted butter, molasses, sour cream, eggs, and vanilla.

    Step 1: Start by mixing your wet ingredients together. First melt the butter in the microwave (image 1) or on the stove, then combine it with molasses, sour cream, eggs, and vanilla extract (image 2). Use a whisk to ensure there are no lumps of sour cream. The wet ingredients will be quite fluid. (image 4).

    Whisking dry ingredients and combining with wet ingredients to make gingerbread muffins with cranberries.

    Step 2: Whisk together the wet ingredients in a separate bowl (image 5), then pour the wet ingredients over the dry (image 6). Stir them to create a thick batter (image 7), then add the cranberries (image 8).

    Portioning out thick gingerbread muffin batter into paper-lined muffin pan.

    Step 3: Fold the cranberries gently into the batter to evenly incorporate them without crushing them (image 9).

    Step 4: Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners (image 10), then portion out the batter evenly using a 3-¼ ounce (96 mL) disher (image 11).

    Gingerbread muffins before and after baking in a muffin pan.

    Tips for Baking with Cranberries and Other Berries

    Though this doesn't happen with this recipe, if your berries sink to the bottom of your muffins, next time toss them in flour to coat them before incorporating in the muffin batter. The flour will help absorb some of their moisture as they bake but will also help anchor them in the batter.

    Don't defrost frozen cranberries before using them. They will become very wet and are hard to work with when defrosted, easily crushed when you go to stir them into the thick muffin batter.

    If baking with dried cranberries, you may plump them in boiling water to rehydrate them before stirring them into your batter. Drain them well and pat them dry before mixing into the Christmas muffin batter.

    Gingerbread cranberry muffins flavoured with gingerbread spices, molasses, and tart cranberries

    Muffin FAQs

    What can I serve with gingerbread muffins?

    I love to serve these gingerbread muffins with salted butter and flaky sea salt, and for a special treat, make some homemade lemon curd to enjoy with them! The combination is heavenly! Orange marmalade works really well with these, too.

    How long can I store these muffins?

    You can store these moist muffins for 3–4 days in an airtight container, but I prefer to freeze them when they are freshly baked (cooled completely) to keep them fresh.
    Remember to fully cool the muffins to room temperature (for 3–4 hours) before transferring them to an airtight container or freezer bag for long-term storage (1–2 months).

    How do I defrost them?

    If you want to defrost frozen muffins, you have a few options depending on how much time you have: in the fridge overnight, unwrapped to avoid moisture buildup on the surface of the muffin tops; at room temperature for a few hours, unwrapped to avoid moisture buildup on the surface of the muffin tops; in the microwave oven: place the unwrapped muffin on a napkin or a microwave-safe plate. Microwave on HIGH for about 30 seconds for each muffin. The time and results will vary according to the power of your microwave, but this is definitely the fastest method to defrost muffins.

    Gingerbread muffins with cranberries

    More Christmas Baking Recipes

    For more baking ideas, check out these festive Christmas baking recipes!

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    If you tried this gingerbread muffin recipe (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

    📖 Recipe

    A Christmas muffin split open on a plate, served with butter.

    Cranberry Gingerbread Muffins

    AuthorAuthor : Janice Lawandi
    Learn how to make the best gingerbread muffins with this easy recipe. These Christmas muffins are flavoured with molasses, gingerbread spices, and cranberries for a lovely snack or Christmas breakfast treat.
    5 from 1 vote
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    Prep Time 25 minutes mins
    Cook Time 25 minutes mins
    Total Time 50 minutes mins
    Course Snack
    Cuisine American
    Servings 12 muffins
    Calories 289 kcal

    Equipment

    • Muffin pan
    • OXO balloon whisk
    • Danish dough whisk
    • 3-¼ oz scoop
    • Cake tester
    Need measurements in CUPSUse the button options below to switch from Metric to US measurements! It's that easy!

    Ingredients
     
     

    • 250 grams bleached all-purpose flour
    • 150 grams granulated sugar
    • 10 mL baking powder
    • 5 mL ground cinnamon
    • 2.5 mL baking soda
    • 2.5 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
    • 2.5 mL ground ginger
    • 2.5 mL ground nutmeg
    • 1.25 mL ground cloves
    • 155 grams unsalted butter
    • 125 mL sour cream (14% fat)
    • 125 grams Fancy molasses
    • 2 large egg(s)
    • 5 mL pure vanilla extract
    • 180 grams fresh cranberries or frozen

    Instructions
     

    • Preheat the oven to 375℉ (190 ℃). Line a 12-cup muffin pan (or two 6-cup muffin pans) with paper liners (or silicone, or butter and flour to prevent sticking). Set aside.
    • In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sour cream, molasses, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk until smooth.
    • In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Set aside.
    • Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir just until combined.
    • Fold the cranberries into the batter. The batter will be thick.
    • Divide the Christmas muffin batter among the paper-lined muffin pans.
    • Bake until puffed and set. A cake tester inserted into the middle (not through the berries) should come out clean. This takes about 25 minutes.
    • Serve warm with salted butter or let cool to store.

    Notes

    Equipment: I like to use a Danish dough whisk to mix muffin batters. To line the muffin pans, you can use paper liners or silicone. Alternatively, you can butter and flour the muffin cups instead.
    Variations: 
      • Molasses—use a light baking molasses or black treacle (if in Europe).
      • Cranberries—fresh or frozen will work here. If using frozen, incorporate them into the batter when still frozen. Dried cranberries also work!
      • Sour cream—full-fat Greek yogurt can also work in this recipe.
      • Spices—you can replace the mix of spices with pumpkin pie spice mix, gingerbread spice mix, or even apple pie spice mix.
      • Chocolate—add white chocolate chips or chopped white chocolate to the muffin batter. Dark chocolate may also work if you prefer.
    Storage: You can store these moist muffins for 3–4 days in an airtight container, but I prefer to freeze them when they are freshly baked (cooled completely) to keep them fresh.
    Defrosting instructions: If you want to defrost frozen muffins, you have a few options depending on how much time you have: in the fridge overnight, unwrapped to avoid moisture buildup on the surface of the muffin tops; at room temperature for a few hours, unwrapped to avoid moisture buildup on the surface of the muffin tops; in the microwave oven: place the unwrapped muffin on a napkin or a microwave-safe plate. Microwave on HIGH for about 30 seconds for each muffin. The time and results will vary according to the power of your microwave, but this is definitely the fastest method to defrost muffins.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 289kcalCarbohydrates: 40gProtein: 4gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 61mgSodium: 149mgPotassium: 303mgFiber: 1gSugar: 21gVitamin A: 436IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 85mgIron: 2mg
    Give backIf you enjoy the free content on this website, buy me a pound of butter to say thanks!

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    Comments

    1. Smith Bites says

      January 06, 2015 at 9:09 pm

      even though the holidays are behind us, i really, really like the sound of these! i'd convert them to gluten-free as me and gluten don't get along but just a lovely muffin!

      Reply
    2. Anna (Hidden Ponies) says

      December 06, 2014 at 12:49 am

      Heeey, gingerbread muffins! They are a wonderful thing. I need to try some with cranberries now.

      Reply
    3. Joanne B says

      November 18, 2014 at 3:42 pm

      I made these a couple of days ago. They were surprisingly delicious. I have to admit I did not bother to poach the cranberries first, but the muffins were still moist and delicious! Thanks.

      Reply
    4. Mardi (eat. live. travel. write.) says

      November 16, 2014 at 6:41 am

      Life is too busy most of the time but I think time spent in the kitchen (especially making these) can be definitely stress-relieving. I also eat bowls of rice for dinner fairly often (with a splash of sesame oil and some sesame seeds!)

      Reply
    5. Sondi says

      November 14, 2014 at 6:24 pm

      I must admit, I had a chuckle over your cravings incident because I've totally been there, sista. Sorry to hear you've been having a crappy week! Sending a big hug your way.

      Reply
    5 from 1 vote

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