Tis the season for gingerbread. Last week I tried to make gingerbread scones, but they were out of control. In my mind, scones should have a nice neat triangular shape. The ones I made spread out into brown humps and looked like cow pies. There weren’t enough sprinkles in the world to make them look appetizing. Maybe I could have gotten over how bad they looked if they had tasted good, but the recipe called for waaaaay too much ginger and cloves and they tasted bitter. Ugly and bitter.
Looking for a gingerbread format that I could control and bend to my will, I switched to muffins. This recipe comes from Post Punk Kitchen. I lowered the ginger content and added some orange zest. I sprinkled decorative sugar on the tops of the muffins when there was about five minutes of baking time left. That way the sugar sticks but doesn’t melt.
This recipe makes six amenable and delectable muffins. Happy Holidays!
- ⅓ cup almond milk (or your preferred non-dairy milk)
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons ground flax seed
- 1¼ cups whole wheat pastry flour or all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup canola oil
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ⅓ cup molasses
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tsp orange zest (optional)
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray. If using paper muffin cups, spray those as well.
- First measure out the milk in a measuring cup. Mix the apple cider and ground flax seed directly into the measuring cup and stir vigorously with a fork for about a minute. That helps to bring out the oils of the flax seeds while the vinegar thickens and curdles the milk. Both of those things will help the muffin to rise.
- In a mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and salt.
- Make a well in the center and add the milk mixture. Add in the oil, applesauce, molasses, sugar, vanilla and orange zest. Use a wooden spoon to mix ingredients together until everything is just moistened. Don’t overmix, it’s okay if the batter is a little lumpy.
- Fill 6 muffin tins most of the way full. Bake for about 22 minutes, until tops are puffed up and firm and a knife or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- When cool enough to handle, transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
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These gingerbread muffins are outstanding! The baking aroma filled our home with anticipation; the texture was light and the taste superbly complex. I must say the orange zest was a delightful addition. I forgot to add the sugar on top but will make a note on the recipe because it’s a nice touch for guests and gifts, especially with decorative paper baking cups like shown in your picture. This one’s a keeper. Thank you!
Thanks for taking the time to let me know, Kathleen. I’m so glad you liked them!