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Do you love gingerbread? If so, then you’ll also love these Fluffy Gingerbread Muffins! They would be a perfect recipe to prep for Christmas week if you have guests in town. They can wake up and enjoy a gingerbread muffin for breakfast, or eat it as a snack in the afternoon. And even if you don’t have guests in town, you’ll still enjoy these muffins! They are fluffy, flavorful, and the streusel topping is the perfect added touch because it’s buttery, sweet, and adds a mild crunch.

Tricks to make healthier baked goods

Use coconut sugar in place of white sugar and brown sugar. It subs 1:1 but is natural, unrefined, and lower glycemic. Coconut sugar is dehydrated sap from coconut trees – so it doesn’t taste like coconut at all! It tastes more like brown sugar – an almost caramelized flavor (aka DELISH). You’ll need to give coconut sugar a try if you haven’t yet! It’s a game changer for healthier baking.

Use high quality butter – I’m a big believer that butter is healthy as long as it comes from the right source, By butter made from grass-fed cows, and if you can get your hands on raw butter (which still contains the enzymes that help break it down in our digestive systems), then that’s a bonus! If you don’t want butter, you can try subbing coconut oil, but keep in mind it’ll infuse a coconut flavor. Another option is to sub avocado oil for the butter, however it may not work well for the streusel topping because it won’t crystallize as much. But it would be perfect for the muffins, and I have many recipes using avocado oil! I chose butter for this particular recipe because I wanted to mimic traditional gingerbread flavors as much as I could.

Use high-quality flour – The quality of foods you buy makes the BIGGEST difference. Instead of using bleached, refined, white flour that is improperly milled and processed, opt for organic, unbleached, properly grown and milled flours. I buy my flour from Sunrise Flour Mill because they use pre-1950’s milling techniques and have very high quality flours.

Ingredients

Flour – I use Sunrise Flour Mill’s heritage white flour which is a much healthier alternative to traditional white flour. Their flour is from heritage wheat, which is more digestible, and it’s also organic, unbleached, non-bromate, and properly milled.

Butter – Opt for grass-fed butter and raw if you have access to it. You can sub avocado oil or coconut oil if needed, but I definitely recommend using butter for the best flavor and texture!

Brown coconut sugar – As the sweetener. I love using coconut sugar as a healthier alternative to the bleached and refined sugars typically used. For this recipe, I specifically used brown coconut sugar instead of golden to add extra flavor. Think of coconut sugar as tasting similar to brown sugar (it doesn’t taste like coconut).

Molasses – for classic gingerbread flavor. It also adds moistness and sweetness.

Eggs – the binder.

Yogurt – adds protein and moisture. You can sub a dairy free yogurt or applesauce if needed.

Milk – any milk of choice works!

Spices – ground ginger, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, vanilla extract, and salt for flavor.

Baking soda, baking powder – for proper rise.

Method

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a muffin pan with paper liners.
Soften the stick of butter then set aside.
Make the streusel: Combine the 3 Tablespoons melted butter (this is separate from the stick of butter for the muffins!), flour, coconut sugar, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl with a fork until a crumble forms.
In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients.
In a separate large bowl with an electric mixer, combine the softened stick of butter and the coconut sugar until it becomes creamy and lighter in color. Add the rest of the wet ingredients and mix until combined, but be careful not to over-mix.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold together with a spatula until combined.
Divide the batter evenly between the muffin liners. Use a spoon or ice cream scoop for this because the batter will be thick.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the muffins cool for 5 minutes in the pan then transfer to a wire rack.

Modifications

Alter spices to your preference – If you love really strong ginger, feel free to add more. The same applies to the cinnamon or cloves, although I would be careful not to put too many cloves because it would overpower from the gingerbread flavor.
Sub coconut oil or avocado oil for the butter if you need it dairy-free. Just be aware that the flavor and texture will be different, but still delicious. I recommend using butter if you don’t stay away from dairy though because it’s the perfect addition to the gingerbread flavor. Keep in mind the avocado oil will not work as well for the streusel because butter and sugar sort of crystallize together.
Use dairy-free milk and yogurt if needed. It should work just the same!
Use golden coconut sugar instead of brown coconut sugar if that’s what you have on hand. It’ll still be great, the brown coconut sugar is just a tad stronger in flavor.
Make mini muffins instead – See this post to make this recipe into mini muffins. It’s perfect for adding to a Christmas charcuterie board!

What is the texture of the Gingerbread Muffins?

The muffins are fluffy and delicious! Then the streusel topping adds a perfect amount of buttery sweetness. If you are subbing avocado oil or coconut oil for the butter, then the flavor and texture may be slightly different (especially if using coconut oil since it would add a coconut flavor).

Other recipes you would love

Mini Charcuterie Gingerbread Muffins

Gingerbread Cookie Ice Cream

Soft Gingerbread Cookies with Orange Glaze

Maple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies (gf, df)

Baked Pears with Pecan Streusel (gf)

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Fluffy Gingerbread Muffins with Streusel

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Author: Christine Manes
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Rest time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 16 minutes
Total Time: 41 minutes
Yield: 12 muffins
Category: breakfast, snack
Method: Oven
Cuisine: American

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a muffin pan with paper liners.
Soften the stick of butter then set aside.
Make the streusel: Combine the 3 Tablespoons melted butter (this is separate from the stick of butter for the muffins!), flour, coconut sugar, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl with a fork until a crumble forms.
In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients.
In a separate large bowl with an electric mixer, combine the softened stick of butter and the coconut sugar until it becomes creamy and lighter in color. Add the rest of the wet ingredients and mix until combined, but be careful not to over-mix.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold together with a spatula until combined.
Divide the batter evenly between the muffin liners. Use a spoon or ice cream scoop for this because the batter will be thick.
Bake for 17-22 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the muffins cool for 5 minutes in the pan then transfer to a wire rack.