Gingerbread Muffins with Cranberries and White Chocolate Chips

These Gingerbread Muffins are perfect for a festive winter breakfast.

Dried cranberries and white chocolate complement the gingerbread, but if you’re not a fan of either you can leave them out (or double up on one or the other).

In my faith tradition, these weeks before Christmas are meant to be a time of reflection before the Twelve Days of Christmas which begin on the 25th.

It’s a time of cultivating and nurturing hope in a world so desperately in need.

In the more commercial world, the sparkles and bright lights of the season can easily steal a person’s focus from the fact that hope is a responsibility, and one gift we must share.

So what about the muffins?

These are sweet enough to remind us the world is beautiful, yet not so indulgent that we forget that there is still work to do.

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Gingerbread Muffins with Cranberries and White Chocolate Chips

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

25 mins

Total Time

40 mins

 

You can omit the cranberries and white chocolate if you prefer, or use just one or the other.

Servings: 12 large muffins

Author: Mary Gillespie

Ingredients

• 1 cup / 250 ml whole wheat flour
• 1 cup / 250 ml all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup / 125 ml brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons / 10 ml dried ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon / 2.5 ml cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon / 1.25 ml ground pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon / 1.25 ml salt
• 1 teaspoon / 5 ml baking soda
• 1 teaspoon / 5 ml baking powder
• 1/2 cup / 125 ml white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup / 125 ml dried cranberries
• 2 tablespoons / 30 ml orange juice
• 3/4 cup / 185 ml buttermilk or 1/2 cup / 125 ml plain yogurt mixed with 1/4 cup / 60 ml milk
• 1/2 cup / 125 ml applesauce
• 1/4 cup / 60 ml vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons / 30 ml molasses
• 2 eggs

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F / 204 degrees C. Prepare a 12 cup muffin pan by greasing or lining with paper liners.
2. In mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, ginger, cinnamon, pepper, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Stir in white chocolate chips.
3. Place cranberries in a small bowl and pour orange juice over. Heat in microwave for one minute. (If you do not have a microwave, you can heat to boiling point in a saucepan on stove top, or leave the berries and juice to sit for 15-20 minutes.)
4. In separate mixing bowl, beat buttermilk, applesauce, vegetable oil, molasses and eggs until thoroughly blended.
5. Add buttermilk mixture and softened cranberries (with any remaining orange juice) to flour mixture. Stir just until blended and no streaks of flour are visible. Do not over mix - the batter should not be smooth.
6. Spoon into prepared muffin tins and bake for 20-25 minutes or until muffins are lightly browned and the tops spring back when touched (or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean).
7. Remove from oven and let muffins cool in pan for 5 minutes before removing and letting cool on a rack.