These gingerbread muffins with cinnamon streusel and eggnog glaze are the perfect make-ahead Christmas breakfast or holiday snack. Just add a gingerbread latte, mulled cider, or hot cocoa for a cozy, festive treat!
Table of Contents
If you’re looking for even more holiday-worthy muffin recipes, be sure to try these one-bowl cranberry orange muffins, a batch of apple cider donut muffins, these one-bowl pumpkin muffins, and a basket of brown sugar cinnamon muffins. You should definitely make this Amish Friendship Bread too, since it’s perfect for sharing!
Why You’ll Love these Gingerbread Muffins
- Easy. They might include a few steps (mixing the batter, stirring together the streusel, and whisking the glaze), but these easy gingerbread muffins do not require an electric mixer and they come together quickly. No special baking skills required!
- Festive. These muffins check all of the boxes for festive holiday fare — warm gingerbread spices, a rich, buttery crumb topping, and an eggnog glaze.
- Make-Ahead. If you’re looking ahead to a busy holiday morning of unwrapping gifts, or if you’re entertaining guests in your home this season, these muffins are a convenient morning meal to make in advance. They’re very freezer-friendly, so you can whip up a batch weeks ahead of time and just thaw them as needed!
Gingerbread History
You can’t beat the nostalgia or the taste of classic gingerbread! This seasonal flavor is loved around the world, and can be found in a variety of baked goods. Gingerbread can refer to anything from a cut-out cookie to a soft, moist cake. The holiday treat is typically flavored with ginger, cloves, cinnamon, or nutmeg, and is sweetened with honey, sugar, or molasses.
European settlers originally brought gingerbread to the Americas, and recipes in our country date back to at least 1796 when Amelia Simmons published seven different types of gingerbread in her cookbook, American Cookery (source). Today, we’re turning this classic treat into easy-to-eat and easy-to-make gingerbread muffins, which offer a good excuse to enjoy these flavors at the breakfast table!
The Secret to Moist Gingerbread Muffins
To keep the muffins light, tender, fluffy, and incredibly moist so that they don’t just crumble:
- Use full-fat sour cream. The acid in the thick, rich, sour cream yields a muffin with a moist, tender crumb. The fat in the sour cream also contributes moisture to the batter.
- Two different types of fat. The fat from both the oil and the sour cream (and to a lesser extent, the milk) keeps the muffins exceptionally moist.
- Do not over-mix the batter. You want it to come together so that everything is combined, but then stop stirring. Mixing too much activates the gluten in the flour and results in dry, dense muffins.
Ingredients
This is just a quick overview of the ingredients that you’ll need for a batch of moist gingerbread muffins. As always, specific measurements and step-by-step instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.
- Brown sugar: I like the rich molasses flavor of dark brown sugar, but light brown sugar is a perfectly fine substitute.
- Granulated sugar: for the streusel.
- Butter: I like salted butter in the streusel, but unsalted butter is totally fine as well.
- Molasses: a thick sweetener that gives the cake a bold, rich flavor. Grandma’s is the brand of unsulfured, sun-ripened sugarcane molasses that I typically use.
- Milk: to thin the batter. Use whole milk or 2% milk for the best results.
- Oil: keeps the muffins moist. Pick a neutral oil such as vegetable oil or canola oil.
- Sour cream: an important ingredient, thanks to its high fat content and its acidity. The sour cream adds moisture without thinning the batter, adds fat for creaminess, helps to control the browning, and activates the baking soda.
- Egg: for structure.
- Vanilla extract: for warm flavor.
- Flour: the base of the muffins.
- Baking powder and baking soda: leavening agents that help the muffins rise.
- Ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg: warm spices that give the muffins their classic flavor.
- Salt: to enhance the other flavors in the gingerbread and balance the sweetness.
- Powdered sugar (confectioners’ sugar), vanilla, and eggnog: come together to make the glaze on top. You can sub with cream or milk if you don’t have eggnog. You might like to add a pinch of nutmeg, too!
How to Make Gingerbread Muffins
These easy gingerbread muffins include a cinnamon streusel topping and an eggnog glaze for a decadent, bakery-style treat! You’ll find detailed directions in the recipe card below, but here’s the quick version:
- Stir together the streusel.
- Make the muffin batter.
- Drop the muffin batter into a muffin pan that’s lined with paper liners, and top with the streusel mixture.
- Bake the muffins until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean.
- Cool on a wire rack.
- Whisk together the glaze.
- Drizzle the glaze over the muffins.
Serving Suggestions
These gingerbread muffins are a great make-ahead breakfast for the holiday season, but you can also enjoy them at other times of day. For instance, set out a basket of muffins for an afternoon snack with a cup of tea, mulled cider, gingerbread lattes, or hot chocolate. They’re perfect on their own, or equally delicious topped with softened butter, honey butter, cream cheese, Christmas jam, or a dollop of whipped cream.
If you’re planning a Christmas morning menu, pair these muffins with any of these other options for a delicious breakfast or brunch:
- Maple Sausage and Apple Breakfast Bake
- “Country Comfort” Smoked Sausage Casserole
- Sausage Breakfast Casserole
- Overnight Breakfast Casserole
- Croissant Breakfast Casserole with Berries
- Quiche Lorraine
- Pimento Cheese Grits Casserole
- Creamy Shrimp and Grits
- Easy Fruit Salad with Vanilla Pudding
- Mandarin Orange Salad
- Candied Bacon
Preparation and Storage Tips
Allow the gingerbread streusel muffins to cool completely. Store muffins in a large Ziploc freezer bag or other airtight container. They will keep for 2-3 days at room temperature, or you can freeze the muffins for up to 3 months.
How to Reheat Gingerbread Muffins
If the muffins are frozen, allow them to sit on the counter for a few minutes while you preheat the oven to 350°F. Frozen muffins will require about 10-12 minutes in the oven; room temperature muffins will only need about 5 minutes to warm through.
Alternatively, you can microwave one muffin at a time for 15-30 seconds or just until warm.
Recipe Variations
- I like the rich molasses flavor of dark brown sugar, but light brown sugar is a perfectly fine substitute.
- Swap out the sour cream and use thick, full-fat, plain Greek yogurt.
- If you don’t have eggnog, you can make the glaze with milk or cream. Start with just 2 tablespoons of milk, since it’s not as thick as the eggnog. You can always add more until the glaze reaches the desired texture.
- Instead of the eggnog glaze, make an orange glaze or lemon glaze to drizzle over the muffins.
- Skip the streusel and glaze, and just sprinkle the tops of the muffins with coarse sugar before baking.
- Fold white chocolate chips, dried cranberries, or chopped nuts (like pecans or walnuts) into the muffin batter for even more flavor and texture.
Tips for the Best Gingerbread Muffin Recipe
- Use bourbon vanilla extract to really bring home that eggnog flavor in the glaze! You might also like to include a pinch of nutmeg in the glaze.
- Use full-fat sour cream for a rich, moist muffin.
- Opt for whole milk or at least 2% milk for the best flavor and texture.
- Do not substitute with blackstrap molasses in this recipe. The blackstrap molasses has a different flavor and texture, so it is not an equal substitute.
- Make sure that all of your ingredients are at room temperature so that they blend together smoothly.
- The key to a perfect muffin is just barely mixing the ingredients. You want them to come together, but a few lumps are fine. This way they’ll stay moist and tender!
- To check if the muffins are done, insert a toothpick into the center and make sure it comes out clean. Don’t cook them for too long, or they can dry out.
More Make-Ahead Christmas Breakfast Recipes
Cake Mix Coffee Cake
3 hours hrs 10 minutes mins
Farmhouse Cinnamon Rolls
3 hours hrs 50 minutes mins
Glazed Eggnog Bread
2 hours hrs 55 minutes mins
Did you make this recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a comment with a 5-star review at the bottom of the post. Thank you!
Gingerbread Muffins with Cinnamon Streusel and Eggnog Glaze
Ingredients
STREUSEL
- ⅔ cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 2 ½ tablespoons granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (½ of a stick) salted butter, melted
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
MUFFINS
- ¼ cup packed dark brown sugar
- ½ cup molasses
- ⅓ cup milk, at room temperature
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- ¼ cup (4 ounces) sour cream, at room temperature
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
GLAZE
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- 3 tablespoons eggnog (or more as needed)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Prepare a 12-cup muffin tin by lining 11 of the cups with paper cup liners or by greasing with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
MAKE THE STREUSEL
- In a medium bowl, use a fork to combine the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, melted butter, cinnamon, and salt until crumbly. Set aside.
PREPARE THE MUFFINS
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, molasses, milk, oil, sour cream, egg, and vanilla extract until well blended. In a large bowl, whisk or sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, stirring just until combined. The batter will still be slightly lumpy, which is fine – do not overmix.
BAKE THE MUFFINS
- Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle streusel over the top of each muffin, gently pressing into the top of the muffin so that it sticks.
- Bake for about 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove from the pan and cool on a wire rack.
GLAZE THE MUFFINS
- In a small bowl, whisk together the glaze ingredients until smooth. If the glaze seems too thick, add a small amount of extra eggnog. If the glaze seems too thin, add a little bit more powdered sugar. Drizzle the glaze over the tops of the cooled muffins.
Notes
- Use bourbon vanilla extract to really bring home that eggnog flavor in the glaze! You might also like to include a pinch of nutmeg in the glaze.
- Use full-fat sour cream for a rich, moist muffin.
- Opt for whole milk or at least 2% milk for the best flavor and texture.
- Do not substitute with blackstrap molasses in this recipe. The blackstrap molasses has a different flavor and texture, so it is not an equal substitute.
- Make sure that all of your ingredients are at room temperature so that they blend together smoothly.
- The key to a perfect muffin is just barely mixing the ingredients. You want them to come together, but a few lumps are fine. This way they’ll stay moist and tender!
- To check if the muffins are done, insert a toothpick into the center and make sure it comes out clean. Don’t cook them for too long, or they can dry out.
- Muffin recipe adapted from Betty Crocker.
If you like gingerbread you will love these muffins! I made them yesterday and would probably just change the glaze, omitting the vanilla. They are a treat!
Thank you, Nancy! We’re so glad you enjoyed them.
I must amend my review to include the he admission that these became Christmas gifts, along with a copy of your recipe. They are wonderful! I wanted to introduce my friends to your site.
Thank you so much, Nancy! We really appreciate you sharing the recipes.