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Spicy Gingerbread Muffins with Greek Yogurt

Gingerbread muffins definitely are not just for Christmas!

Gingerbread baking is such a warm, comforting smell, so I believe baking gingerbread muffins is a great way to cheer up any dreary winter day.

What, you may ask, can I possibly know about winter days? I mean, just how “winter” can it get in Hawaii? I’ll admit that it doesn’t get very cold in most of the state and only snows in a couple places, but wow, the rain. We live near the windward side of a mountain range and winter is the rainy season, so we won’t see real sunshine for days on end. Even if it’s not cold, it sure gets dreary! And that’s where these spicy gingerbread muffins come in:

Smelling them bake puts a smile on your face, and biting into a nice, warm, fresh from the oven gingerbread muffin with a sip of espresso or hot tea is enough to make you forget the cloudy skies and incessant precipitation for a while.

I don’t have the world’s best muffin tin – far from it. In fact, my muffin tin has such small cavities that recipes intended to make 6 cupcakes or muffins make about 12 in my pan!

If you have a “normal” sized pan, this recipe should make 12 muffins. If you have an awesome, oversized muffin pan it will make a few less, and if your muffin cavities are undersized, like mine, you’ll have a little extra.

You can either put this extra batter in the fridge and make a second small batch or try putting your extra in a couple silicone baking cups to bake at the same time.

I’ve noticed that my silicone cups take a little longer to bake the muffins than the metal pan, so I leave them in an extra minute or two. (In case you’re wondering, I use these silicone cups because they’re actually pure silicone, not “silicone” like some of the bargain buys available.)

Sadly, I only have pictures of the muffins in a basket. Papi Chulo figured muffin in plate + cup of espresso = time to snack! Adding a dusting of powdered sugar made him even more excited.

Healthier muffins for the holidays

These gingerbread muffins are quick and easy to make, plus they’re “lighter” than the usual suspects because they use Greek yogurt in lieu of four additional tablespoons of butter!

While I love cooking and baking with yogurt, I have to warm against using a full cup of yogurt and no butter in this recipe – the muffins turn out overly moist. My favorite Greek yogurt is Fage 0%. This isn’t a sponsored post or anything – they’re the best I’ve found. Unlike some other brands, Fage doesn’t contain thickeners and additives, so it’s creamier and has more protein. Alright – enough about yogurt. Let’s see the recipe!

Gingerbread muffin recipe

Yield: 12-14

Spicy Gingerbread Muffins with Greek Yogurt

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Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda (make sure it's fresh!)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• a couple cranks of fresh-ground black pepper
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 cup milk (I used no sugar added almond milk)
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted then cooled
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

Instructions

Grease and flour a muffin tin (or use cooking spray) to prepare it and preheat your oven to 375ºF.

Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl and whisk to combine.

Whisk together the eggs and sugar in a large bowl. Whisk until the yolks are fully mixed in, then whisk in the milk. Once it's incorporated, whisk in the butter and Greek yogurt. It make look lumpy at first - don't worry! Just whisk a little more to incorporate.

Add about half the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until just combined. Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix, using a wooden or plastic spoon if necessary, until just combined. Don't over mix or your muffins may turn out tough!

Spoon or pour the batter into your prepared muffin tin, filling each cavity until a little below the rim. If your tin is smaller, like mine is, you may end up with some extra. I poured my extra batter into a couple silicone baking cups to make more muffins.

Bake on the middle rack until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 18-22 minutes.

Cool in the pan for five minutes, turn out onto a wire rack, and cool until they're not too hot to eat. =)

Completely cool muffins may be stored in an air tight container.

These gingerbread muffins brightened several rainy mornings before they were all gone, and I hope they help you,too, on a cloudy day this winter.

If you enjoy cooking with Greek yogurt, you may like these other recipes, too!

Sparkling cranberry Greek yogurt muffins

Healthy(er) Greek yogurt cupcakes

What’s your favorite go-to pick-me-up on a dreary day? The rainy season is just getting started so I need your tips!