CookThatBook

Welcome to the third week of the holiday edition of Muffin Monday! This week’s recipe? A simple version of Gingerbread Muffins courtesy of Betty Crocker. It is quick and easy to prepare, the spicy aroma guaranteed to get your sleepyheads up and at ’em even on the coldest, darkest of November mornings.

I happen to love gingerbread and was hoping that there would be a gingerbread muffin in the mix. There’s just something about the dense, sweet, treacle spiced taste of gingerbread that goes hand in hand with the holidays. Baking these muffins made my house smell incredible. I had to really…really try hard not to start belting out Christmas carols. All in good time.

Wanting to really showcase the flavour of gingerbread in these muffins, I ended up adding a plethora of additional spices beyond that which was called for in the recipe: 1 Tbsp ground ginger, ¾ tsp cinnamon, ¼ tsp ground cloves, ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg, and 1/8 tsp ground cardamom. I also added ¼ cup of strong coffee which I find really dials up the flavour of the molasses and spices, similar to the way it does with chocolate. It also helps to keep the muffins nice and moist. As for the topping, I opted to add crystalized ginger and a drizzle of melted white chocolate.

The result? Perfection.

These muffins turned out incredibly moist with a great texture that included the perfect proportion of density vs. fluffiness, and that lovely treacle flavour that always reminds me of the holiday season.

Is there a particular flavour or food item that represents the holidays for you? I would love to hear what gets you to fa la la la la your way into the spirit of the season!

For a copy of the original recipe for Gingerbread Muffins, please visit Baker Street’s site and be sure to check out what the other food bloggers have baked up this week!

Muffin Monday is an initiative by Baker Street. A culinary journey of sharing a wickedly delicious muffin recipe every week. Drop in a quick line to join her on her journey to make the world smile and beat glum Monday mornings week after week.