The other day in conversation someone happened to mention gingerbread. I don’t remember how it came up, and it was just mentioned in a fleetingly brief moment. I’m sure no one else gave it another thought, but, me being me, suddenly I couldn’t get it out of my head.
I was in desperate need of a gingerbread fix.
I’m no stranger to gingerbread, having indulged in the most wonderful Gingerbread Popcorn and having made my own Gingerbread Spice Syrup for lattes. (And if I’m thinking about going the cookie route, Molasses Crinkles are usually my top choice!) But I wanted something I could eat for breakfast and be satisfied, because, well…it was breakfast time and like I said, my hankering for gingerbread wasn’t waiting.
Muffins were a natural choice (but I’ll admit, I forgot about my Healthy Gingerbread Pancakes, which would have also been a great choice!). Now, you and I both know muffins are healthier than cupcakes. I took it one step further with these muffins and snuck in a few extra healthy things (like cottage cheese, whole wheat pastry flour, and coconut palm sugar).
But have you noticed how “healthy” is almost taboo around the holidays? Don’t tell anyone what’s in these and the fact that they’re pretty healthy will be our dirty little secret. ;)
- 6 tablespoons (85 g) butter, melted and cooled (salted butter will work fine here)
- ⅔ cup (130 g) coconut palm sugar (or ½ cup/100 g lightly packed light brown sugar)
- ¼ cup (60 ml) molasses
- ½ cup (115 g) dry-style (aka California-style) cottage cheese
- ½ cup (120 ml) milk
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1½ cups whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose flour)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 pinch ground black pepper (see Note below)
- ½ cup (60 g) powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla bean extract or pure vanilla extract
- 2-3 teaspoons water
- Preheat oven to 350F; line a muffin tray with paper liners.
- Combine the butter, coconut palm sugar, molasses, cottage cheese, milk, egg, and vanilla extract in a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Let it sit for 2 minutes.
- Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and black pepper.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry all at once and use a wooden spoon to combine, being careful not to over-mix.
- Fill each muffin well about ⅔ full of batter and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean or with just a couple crumbs, about 16 to 18 minutes. Cool completely.
- Once the muffins have cooled, make the glaze. Whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla, and enough water so it reaches your desired consistency.
- Drizzle the glaze on the cooled muffins and allow it to set before serving.
I’m Faith Gorsky, the writer, cook, and photographer behind An Edible Mosaic. My goal is to inspire you to get in the kitchen and try something new! Feel free to 
Rosa says
December 11, 2013 at 7:41 amOh, I want one! Those muffins are great.
Cheers,
Rosa
Erica says
December 11, 2013 at 9:36 amI love gingerbread anything. Its one of those flavors I feel is a love it or hate it…and I definitely love it. I really like the idea of having it in muffin form. The icing on top is just perfect
Katrina @ WVS says
December 11, 2013 at 9:47 amThese truly sound perfect. Love the flavour!
Rose says
December 11, 2013 at 12:25 pmThe glaze looks soo good. I’m also lusting over that wood. Is it a table or a prop? I’m in need of new (and more) food photography props.
Faith says
December 11, 2013 at 6:58 pmRose, Thanks so much! It’s a prop – one of my absolute favorites! :)
Dina says
December 11, 2013 at 5:30 pmthey look yummy!
Sue/the view from great island says
December 11, 2013 at 8:19 pmGingerbread has overtaken pumpkin as the flavor that haunts me day and night, I love these!
Tieghan says
December 11, 2013 at 11:08 pmThese look so good, Faith! I am loving all things gingerbread these days!
Katie says
December 12, 2013 at 6:40 amThat is interesting about the black pepper – I didn’t know that!
Jeanette | Jeanette's Healthy Living says
December 12, 2013 at 9:01 amLove how warm and inviting these muffins look Faith – and I love that they’re healthy (shhh..I won’t tell)
sandra says
December 13, 2013 at 4:16 pmthese are so lovely. I am a fan of all things gingerbread so this will definitely become a favorite.
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
December 14, 2013 at 7:41 pmBeautiful muffins, Faith! I love the vanilla glaze!
Jes says
December 18, 2013 at 11:04 amThese look awesome! Any ideas what I could substitute for the cottage cheese? I can’t find ‘california’ style here. Yogurt maybe? Thank you!
Faith says
December 18, 2013 at 9:34 pmJes, You could either strain your cottage cheese overnight in the fridge (in a cheesecloth or paper towel-lined mesh sieve placed over a bowl to catch the liquid), or give it a try with something like Greek yogurt (since it’s thicker than regular yogurt). Hope you enjoy it if you give it a try!