Gingerbread Cupcakes
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Every year I try and bring dessert for the holidays.  One reason is because I love to bake. Another reason is because I have to travel over 2 hours and it’s easier to bring a dessert then anything else because it doesn’t need to stay hot or cold. The last reason is simply that I make good desserts.
While I have a few classic recipes that I make every holiday, every year I try to make at least one new dessert. That way I have a long list of desserts for each holiday to choose from. I often have to take a dessert to work, one to my family’s house for the holidays, and often times one to a friends house.
This year I decided to make Gingerbread Cupcakes for something different. In the past I’ve made gingerbread cookies and gingerbread fudge but I’ve never made the cupcakes before. To make homemade gingerbread you basically need brown sugar, molasses, and ginger in addition to regular cupcake ingredients.
I made the cupcakes in a hurry so I melted the butter which I wouldn’t recommend.  My cupcakes didn’t rise as much as I would have liked them to because of the melted butter.  However, they tasted amazing! They were sweet and spiced and just about perfect.
I wasn’t sure what type of frosting to put on top of them so I went with my classic buttercream frosting spiced with cinnamon. It was the perfect flavor to pair with the gingerbread cupcakes. I then put some cute winter sugar decorations on top to finish them off. They not only tasted great but they looked good too!
Gingerbread Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 1 stick butter softened
- 1/2 c. brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 c. molasses
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/2 c. flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1/2 c. milk
For the frosting:
- 12 Tablespoons butter softened
- 3 c. powdered sugar
- 2-3 T. milk
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- Sugar decorations or sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place 12 cupcake liners in a cupcake tin.
- In a large bowl cream together the butter and brown sugar. Add in the egg and mix until combined.
- Stir in the molasses and vanilla. Set aside.
- In another bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Mix well.
- Add half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix well. Stir in the milk and mix well. Add the remaining flour to the mixture and mix until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the muffin cups filling each one 2/3 of the way full.
- Bake for 22-24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and cool completely.
- To make the frosting combine the butter and powdered sugar in a bowl and beat with a mixer on medium speed. Add in enough milk to get the desired consistency. Stir in the cinnamon.
- Frost the cupcakes with the cinnamon frosting then top with winter sugar decorations or sprinkles if desired.