All Gingerbread Everything!
Tis the Season
It’s officially time to transition from pumpkin to gingerbread! We’re doing Gingerbread Peppermint Muffins, and classic Gingerbread Cookies - all GF and delicious.
We’re big on muffins in the morning because my kids generally don’t eat a ton for breakfast and they’re already made! I was inspired to make the Smitten Kitchen gingerbread snacking cake recipe GF and into muffins, with a few modifications. For an even more festive kick, I added the Trader Joes Peppermint Chocolate Chips, which are happily GF.
Additionally, I recently learned more about how the structure of baked goods are impacted when gluten is removed. Without the structure that gluten provides, baked goods tend to lose their fluffy texture and become more dense. A remedy for this is to separate your egg yolks from the whites, and whip your egg whites. This helps create more lift in the final texture of the muffin. I know! Who wants to add that step? But I can honestly say the extra 3 minutes this takes results in a much less dense, fluffy baked good that I could not stop snacking on, and my kids loved. As I learn more (and maybe faster) tips and tricks to improve baked goods, I’ll always share them right here!
Gingerbread Peppermint Muffins
Preheat oven to 350
1 stick butter (8 Tablespoons), softened
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs, separate egg yolks and whites
1 Cup water
1 Cup molasses
2 1/2 Cup GF flour
1 Tablespoon ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 Cup Trader Joes Gluten Free Peppermint Flavored Baking Chips
In one bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Once combined, mix in eggs yolks. Next up, whip your egg whites. I did this in a mixing bowl with my hand mixer on high speed for about 2 minutes. Once the whites get frothy and start to become more dense (you can test this by simply picking the mixer up out of the mixture and see if the eggs form ‘peaks,’) fold them into the wet mixture. Now add your cup of water and cup of molasses. At this point I will say the batter looks a little funky, but bear with me!
In a separate bowl, combine your salt, spices, baking powder, baking soda and flour, and whisk. Gently fold, little by little, into the wet mixture. Spoon into muffin tins (I used baking cups). Finally, top each muffin with a small handful of peppermint chips, about 10 or so. Pop into the oven and bake for 20 minutes!
As for cookies, I found out my daughters school has a gingerbread decorating party to kick off school break. As I expected, the cookies and decorations are not GF, so I need to bring our own 10” Gingerbread cookie with all the decorations so she doesn’t miss out! For this, I used the fabulous Healthy Gluten Free Family Gingerbread Cookie recipe, which you can find here. These came out perfectly, and didn’t require resting or fridge time which was very helpful. As you can see, my toddler took the reins on decorating :) We will be making these again before the holidays are over!
Do you have a favorite gingerbread or holiday recipe? Let me know below!