Quick Gingerbread Party Muffins
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The warmth of the holidays calls for flavors that bring comfort, and nothing says “season’s greetings” like the sweet, spicy aroma of gingerbread. Quick Gingerbread Party Muffins, with a hint of molasses and a luscious cream cheese frosting, are the perfect treat to welcome the festive season.
You know the holidays are nearly here when the air starts to smell of cinnamon, spice, and everything nice. And what better way to celebrate the season than with a batch of Quick Gingerbread Party Muffins that blend the perfect flavors of ginger, cinnamon, and molasses? This recipe offers a spiced twist to a classic, using a few pantry staples to elevate a simple spice cake mix into something unforgettable. And trust me, they’re as beautiful as they are delicious, topped with a velvety cream cheese frosting that’ll have you reaching for seconds.
What You’ll Need to Make Quick Gingerbread Party Muffins
Ingredients
-
spice cake mix
-
all purpose flour
-
baking powder
-
ground ginger
-
cinnamon
-
nutmeg
-
vegetable oil
-
molasses
-
milk
-
large eggs
-
vanilla
For Frosting
-
cream cheese
-
unsalted butter
-
powdered sugar
-
vanilla extract
-
lemon juice – optional
Optional Ingredients
-
sanding sugar
-
ginger snaps
-
cinnamon sugar
How to Make Quick Gingerbread Party Muffins
Start by preheating your oven to 425 degrees. Line a muffin pan with 12 liners and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk the cake mix, flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
In another bowl, whisk the vegetable oil, molasses, milk, eggs, and vanilla.
Add the wet ingredient mixture into the dry mixture and stir together just until combined.
Be careful not to over mix! The batter should have a thick consistency.
Fill the liners with batter approximately 3/4 full. 
As an option you can add sanding sugar just before baking. Sanding sugar won’t dissolve with the heat so it adds a bit of a crunchy texture and a little bit of sparkle to the muffins.
Bake Quick Gingerbread Party Muffins for 5 minutes at 425 degrees, then turn the oven down to 350 degrees and continue baking for 15 more minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then move to a rack to finish cooling.
To top Quick Gingerbread Party Muffins with frosting: In a large mixing bowl, using a hand or stand mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy.
Mix in the powdered sugar, vanilla, if desired – add lemon juice.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl as you go, until frosting is completely combined.
Pipe frosting on the Quick Gingerbread Party Muffins for a bakery look, or spread frosting on with a knife. Both ways look amazing and will be a hit for your guests. To pipe the frosting, scoop frosting into a large piping bag, fitted with a 2D or 1M Wilton tip. Make a swirl of frosting on each muffin.
After piping frosting sprinkle with optional cinnamon sugar for decoration and top with half of a ginger snap cookie.
Tips for Making Quick Gingerbread Party Muffins
You can turn any cake mix into a muffin mix. The most common changes to a box cake mix recipe include, adding approx 2 tbsp of flour, not over mixing the batter, and adjusting baking temperatures and time.
- By carefully mixing until just combined, you produce a more dense crumb similar to a muffin.
- To achieve a domed muffin top look, give your muffins a quick shot in the oven at a high temperature. We have found that starting at 425 for 5 minutes before reducing the temperature to 350. Baking at 350 or 375 for the entire time will slow down the rise and give you more of a cupcake type dome.
You can use a gingerbread cake mix in place of the spice cake mix, however it is usually a seasonal product. If using gingerbread cake mix: eliminate the cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg spices and switch out the molasses with sour cream or Greek yogurt. If you prefer a really strong gingerbread flavor, keep the molasses.
More Muffin Recipes You’ll Love
- Monkey Bread Muffins
- Pecan Pie Muffins
- Pumpkin Spice Muffins With Streusel Topping
- Easy Sweet Potato Muffins
Servings: 12
Ingredients
Muffins
- 13.25 oz. box box spice cake mix
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 3 tbsp molasses
- 1/2 cup milk
- 3 eggs large
- 1 tsp vanilla
Frosting
- 8 oz cream cheese room temperature
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp lemon juice optional
Optional Ingredients
- sanding sugar
- ginger snaps
- cinnamon sugar
Instructions
For Muffins
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a muffin pan with 12 wrappers. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk the cake mix, flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
- In another bowl, whisk the vegetable oil, molasses, milk, eggs, and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients into the dry and stir together just until combined. Don't over mix! Batter should be nice and thick.
- Evenly fill the wrappers with batter, they will be 3/4 full. *Optional* if you would like to add sanding sugar, sprinkle just before baking.
- Bake for 5 minutes at 425 degrees. Turn down to 350 degrees and continue baking for 15 more minutes. Or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then move to a rack to finish cooling.
Frosting
- In a large mixing bowl, using a hand or stand mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Mix in the powdered sugar, vanilla, and (optional lemon juice), scraping down the sides as you go, until completely combined.
- Frost the muffins either with a piping bag or spread with a knife.Scoop frosting into a large piping bag, fitted with a 2D or 1M Wilton tip. Make a swirl of frosting on each muffin. Optional : Sprinkle the frosting with cinnamon sugar for decoration and top with half of a ginger snap cookie.*
Notes
- You can turn any cake mix into a muffin mix. The most common changes to a box cake mix recipe include, adding aprox 2 tbsp of flour, not over mixing the batter, and the baking temperatures and time. By just mixing until combined, you will create a more dense crumb similar to a muffin. Give your muffins a quick shot in the oven at a high temperature, this will help to create that dome muffin top look. Baking at 350 or 375 for the entire time will slow down the rise and give you more of a cupcake type dome.
- You can use a gingerbread cake mix, though it's seasonal. If you purchase a gingerbread cake mix instead, omit the cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg spices and switch out the molasses with sour cream or Greek yogurt. If you prefer a stronger gingerbread flavor, keep the molasses.
Tried this recipe?Mention @southernplate or tag #southernplate!
Those look cute and yummy! If I didn’t have so many diabetics and nearly diabetics in my family, and I weren’t trying to lose weight, I’d definitely try to make them!
These are adorable! And the simplicity is a plus too. 🙂 I hope your family is feeling better, and that you stay healthy. 🙂
How cute is this?!! And so easy for this time of year! Hope the family gets better soon. Illness at Christmastime is no fun. Bless all yer hearts….
Cute! I can’t wait to try this. One question, where did you buy those sweet little gingerbread cookies?
Sandy, I got these at Walmart, they are Archway brand. This time of year you can usually find them at Krogers and Publix as well and the other day when I was in Hobby Lobby I saw some cute ones in the Christmas craft and Baking section being sold in a bag.
Thanks! We have Walmart, Kroger, and Hobby Lobby, so I’m bound to find them somewhere. They’ll make a fun Christmasy addition to lunch boxes for the remainder of the year, too!
Thank you, Christy and welcome home! Isn’t it a little weird that you’re the one who went to a foreign country and the rest of your crew are the ones that got sick? I pray they’re all better soon.
These little guys are so cute! And easy…I looooove easy! 😀