perfectly spiced soft gingerbread muffins with a sweet vanilla bean glaze – these Gingerbread Muffins with Vanilla Bean Glaze are perfect for the holidays or any time of year
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You need these Gingerbread Muffins
I’ll be the first to admit that most “gingerbread” and holiday themed desserts are too much for me…too much spice and way too sweet. For these Gingerbread Muffins with Vanilla Bean Glaze, I’ve fixed all of that for you!
They’re incredibly tender, perfectly spiced, and they make your whole home smell like an actual cozy holiday-themed bakery!
Once these babies came out of the oven, I shared them with a few of my neighbors, and they were begging me for the recipe within minutes! That’s when I knew that you all needed the recipe too. Using mostly pantry staples, plus a few specialty spices, you’ll have the perfect holiday breakfast or snack in no time!
Want more delicious Muffin recipes like this? Check out:
Big Bakery Style Blueberry Muffins
The Best Homemade English Muffins
How to make Gingerbread Muffins
- Preheat your oven to 400°F. Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners, as well as an additional pan with 2-3 more liners.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, kosher salt, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, and ground cloves.
- Use a whisk to combine thoroughly.
- To another medium size bowl, add the eggs, brown sugar, whole milk, molasses, sour cream, pure vanilla extract. Whisk to incorporate the ingredients really well. Slowly stream in the melted butter, whisking while your pour, until the mixture is emulsified.
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, then pour the egg and milk mixture into the dry ingredients. Whisk well until just combined. Don’t over mix or the muffins become dense.
- Use a large ice cream scoop or a 1/4 cup measuring cup to portion the batter into the prepared muffin tin.
- Bake at 400° for 25-27 minutes until the muffins are puffy, with crinkled tops. Rotate the pan halfway through the bake time to ensure an even bake.
- Meanwhile, make the glaze. In a small mixing bowl, combine the powdered sugar, milk and kosher salt. Whisk until smooth. If you prefer a thinner glaze, and another teaspoon of milk. To extract the seeds from the vanilla bean pod, use a sharp paring knife to slice the vanilla bean in half, lengthwise. Use the tip of the knife to flatten out the interior of the pod. Then, firmly press the knife down as your scrape the seeds from the inside of the pod. Scrape the seeds off the edge of the knife into the glaze, and whisk to combine.
- Allow the muffins to cool completely, and then spoon the glaze on top, allowing it to drip down the sides slightly. The glaze should set up within 10 minutes. Enjoy!!
Ingredients I use
unbleached all purpose flour – in all of my bakes, I like to King Arthur Baking Company’s flour. I like what the company stands for, it is 100% employee owned, and the high quality flour always gives me consistent, professional results, 10/10.
baking powder – baking powder is a leavened and it helps these gingerbread muffins rise to be puffy and soft. Baking powder is heat activated, so the second you put these muffins into the preheated oven, the baking powder starts working (the more you know!).
kosher salt – kosher salt is my go to in both baking and cooking. I like Morton’s Kosher salt. If you’re using Diamond Crystal, add an extra 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the recipe.
spices – since most people only bake with warm spices like ginger, cinnamon, and cloves during the holiday season, make sure that your spices are fresh! Spices can lose their potency and aromas and go stale after sitting on the shelf for months on end. I like to store my spices in the fridge to keep them fresh.
molasses – molasses is a key ingredient in gingerbread baking. The signature caramel-like flavor make these muffins soft, chewy, and absolutely magic. Don’t substitute anything for molasses, please and thank you!
sour cream – sour cream is a key ingredient in this recipe! The acid from the sour cream makes the crumb of the muffin very tender and moist. If you don’t have sour cream, you could substitute full fat Greek yogurt.
grass fed butter – As with all of my bakes (and cooking!) I use Kerrygold Irish butter. You just cannot compare the richness and flavor that it adds to anything else. I’m obsessed and you will be too.
vanilla beans – The tiny vanilla seeds are scraped from the beans, giving you the richest vanilla glaze ever! Use a sharp paring knife the slice the bean in half lengthwise, then open the pod, and use the knife to carefully scrape out all of the seeds. I like to put the leftover (empty) beans into a canister of sugar to make !VANILLA SUGAR! (try this please).
powdered sugar – before making your glaze, make sure that your powdered sugar doesn’t have any lumps. Sift or whisk the powdered sugar before mixing in the wet ingredients to ensure the smoothest vanilla bean glaze.
ingredients
Helpful tools to make Gingerbread Muffins – all links are shoppable!
Standard Muffin pan – I have at least 2 of these standard size muffin pans, if not more! I use them for cupcakes, muffins, popovers, meal prep. It is a great tool to have, and make sure to get a heavy weight pan, so that your muffins don’t burn.
Ice cream scoop – Since I worked in bakeries, I’ve always used an ice cream scoop to evenly portion out the muffin batter. This is then est way to scoop muffins, and ensures that each muffin is the same size, which means they will all bake evenly.
Metal mixing bowls – having a set of metal mixing bowls of varying sizes is so important for a well-stocked kitchen. I use these exact bowls day in, and day out. I’m sure you will too!
Balloon whisk – You need a great stainless steel whisk. It will last forever, and will help you bake delicious memories.
How to Store Muffins
Muffins fall into the “quick bread” category, and the beauty of these recipes is that they stay moist and fresh for a few days!
I’m sure they won’t last that long because they are SO delicious, but on the off chance that you have a few leftover, make sure to store them in an airtight container at room temperature. This way, they’ll stay soft, tender, and moist!
Share your bake!
If you do make these Gingerbread Muffins with Vanilla Bean Glaze (first of all, thank you!!), be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram and through social media so I can be sure to see what you’re making! If you’d like to stay in touch and get the latest to your inbox, sign up for my Newsletter here as well!
xoxo – LeAnne
Gingerbread Muffins with Vanilla Bean Glaze
perfectly spiced soft gingerbread muffins with a sweet vanilla bean glaze
Ingredients
- 2⅔ cups unbleached all purpose flour 390 g
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt 4 g
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- ¾ cup brown sugar lightly packed, 160 g
- ½ cup whole milk 123 g
- ¾ cup molasses 210 g
- ¼ cup sour cream 60 g
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 8 tablespoons salted Kerrygold butter melted then cooled, 113 g
- For the glaze:
- 2 cups powdered sugar 240 g
- 2-3 tablespoons milk
- pinch of kosher salt
- seeds from half a vanilla bean pod
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners, as well as an additional pan with 2-3 more liners.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, kosher salt, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, and ground cloves. Use a whisk to combine thoroughly.
To another medium size bowl, add the eggs, brown sugar, whole milk, molasses, sour cream, pure vanilla extract. Whisk to incorporate the ingredients really well. Slowly stream in the melted butter, whisking while your pour, until the mixture is emulsified.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, then pour the egg and milk mixture into the dry ingredients. Whisk well until just combined. Don’t over mix or the muffins become dense.
Use a large ice cream scoop or a 1/4 cup measuring cup to portion the batter into the prepared muffin tin.
Bake at 400° for 25-27 minutes until the muffins are puffy, with crinkled tops. Rotate the pan halfway through the bake time to ensure an even bake.
Meanwhile, make the glaze. In a small mixing bowl, combine the powdered sugar, milk and kosher salt. Whisk until smooth. If you prefer a thinner glaze, and another teaspoon of milk. To retrieve the seeds from the vanilla bean pod, use a sharp paring knife to slice the vanilla bean in half, lengthwise. Use the tip of the knife to flatten out the interior of the pod. Then, firmly press the knife down as your scrape the seeds from the inside of the pod. Scrape the seeds off the edge of the knife into the glaze, and whisk to combine.
Allow the muffins to cool completely, and then spoon the glaze on top, allowing it to drip down the sides slightly. The glaze should set up within 10 minutes. Enjoy!
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