These gingerbread muffins with cream cheese frosting are a cozy morning muffin that make for the perfect breakfast everyone in the family will love!
Ok, I have a friend that does not love gingerbread. I mean, she tries, but usually the flavors are a tad too overwhelming for her. I even tried selling her on gingerbread with a friend shared for gingerbread candied bacon because YUM, who doesn’t love bacon!? It turns out that she prefers a classic maple bacon.
Determined to change her mind, I made her these muffins and wouldn’t you know, she actually liked them! When you try these for yourself, you’ll see that they have a nice subtle gingerbread flavor, so even the most discerning critic will enjoy them. And you can’t go wrong smothering anything in cream cheese frosting.
I, on the other hand, loooove gingery recipes (I especially love the gingerbread loaf at Starbucks during the winter lol). Gingery recipes:
- cranberry gingerbread muffins
- pear and ginger caramel crumble
- dark and stormy (ginger) oatmeal cream pie cookies
The best things about these muffins is that they are basically cupcakes (they are that yummy!), but they’re technically muffins so you can eat them for breakfast and not event feel bad. I’m loving that!
I use two of my favorite baking tips when making these muffins.
- Use a cookie scoop (this is large cookie scoop I use)
- Turn them on their side
Here’s what I mean. When scooping these muffins, the best way to do it is to use a cookie scoop. This allows for a uniform size muffin and a clean pan when you’re done. And secondly, the best way to cool these muffins quickly and stop the cooking process is to turn the muffins on their side, while still in the muffin pan. This is a great tip if you don’t have a cooling rack or space to take them out of the pan and let them cool.
When you’re done making these muffins, be sure to store them in the refrigerator due to the cream cheese in the frosting. The best part is that I actually prefer to eat these muffins slightly chilled, so I can take them right out of the fridge onto a plate to enjoy!
I know these are on our menu for Christmas morning and are the perfect option for everyone to enjoy!
Other recipes you might enjoy:
- The Easiest Banana Bread Muffins
- Skinny Banana Berry Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Sweet Potato Pancakes Recipe

Gingerbread Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup 1 stick butter, melted in microwave for 30 seconds
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 1 cup apple sauce
- 1 1/4 cup flour
- 2 tsp. ground ginger
- 2 Tbs. crystalized ginger diced into small pieces
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. cloves or all spice I used all spice
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- For the Frosting
- 4 oz. cream cheese
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat over to 350
- Combine melted butter, sugar, vanilla, egg and apple sauce. Once combined, add in remaining ingredients.
- Use a cookie scoop to scoop mixture into 12 lined baking cups
- Bake at 350 for 20 minutes
- While muffins are baking, make frosting by simply combining cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla.
- Remove muffins from oven and let cool.
- Remove wrapper and frost
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