Usually I think of making gingerbread during the winter holidays, but here’s a summerized version in muffin form! Fresh blackberries make these muffins moist and of course the ginger and molasses give these muffins that great gingerbread taste. I had clipped this recipe from an old issue of Victoria magazine and modified it slightly. The original recipe was supposed to have made 18 muffins; I added in extra blackberries, and came up with 24 to 26 muffins, or 24 muffins and 1 mini-loaf. Making the mini-loaf works out great because you can bake it right along with your muffins–it will just need about 5 to 10 minutes extra baking time.
I also added a creamy glaze with a blackberry on top, because without any glaze or garnish these flat-topped muffins look quite plain. In other words, they are not the prettiest-looking muffins without anything on top. But they do taste great plain, so if you don’t mind them looking that way, you can skip the glaze.
I never would have thought of combining blackberries and gingerbread on my own, but I liked it alot! If you like gingerbread, you’ll have to try this out!
BLACKBERRY GINGERBREAD MUFFINS by NancyC, adapted from Victoria Magazine
Makes 26 muffins (or 24 muffins and 1 mini loaf)
- 3 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 Tablespoon ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon cloves
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 cup unsulphured molasses
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 cups fresh blackberries
Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line muffin pans with 24 paper liners; set aside. Grease and flour a mini-loaf pan; set aside.
In a medium bowl, blend together flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice.
In a large bowl, cream softened butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually add molasses, eggs (one at a time), and buttermilk and mix until everything is combined well.
Add the flour mixture all at once to the butter/molasses mixture and stir until just combined. Gently fold in the berries and mix to distribute evenly in batter.
Fill each muffin cup about 3/4 full, and put the rest of the batter in your mini-loaf pan. Bake muffins at 350˚F for 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean; your mini-loaf will need to bake about 5 to 10 minutes longer. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then remove and cool completely on wire rack.
If desired, drizzle muffins with glaze…
CREAMY GLAZE and BERRY GARNISH
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 Tablespoons Half & Half (light cream)
- 26 blackberries for garnish
In a small bowl, blend powdered sugar and Half & Half until smooth and creamy. Drizzle over cooled muffins and top each muffin with a blackberry in the center.
A summery gingerbread is definitely a new thing for me! Have you tried any different twists on gingerbread?
Linked to Fiesta Friday at The Novice Gardener.
I can’t wait to try these after blackberry picking this summer… yum!!
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Loved the recipe Nancy! Gingerbread cookie in a muffin, almost :).
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Oh, what a combination Nancy…blackberries and ginger! Looks delish!
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What a creative yummy looking muffin Nancy!!
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What a great combination! Never, ever would have thought about it! These sound and look lovely!
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Thanks, Lori! 🙂
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They look delicious, I would have never thought to combine the two either!
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What a wonderful combination of ingredients. These looks fantastic! Happy Fiesta Friday! 🙂
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Happy Fiesta Friday to you, too! 🙂
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What a wonderful combination- the blackberries must provide the perfect complement to the spice of the gingerbread. Photos look amazing as usual too- Nice one Nancy!
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Thank you, Jess! 🙂
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These look so great! I love blackberries and gingerbread but have never put the two together.
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Hi Nancy, I am co-hosting this week – welcome! A fairly genius paring of gingerbread and blackberries, Nancy and the photos look so good too. Thank you so much for sharing these with us. Happy Fiesta Friday!
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love the combo of spices you have used in here….this looks fab….happy Fiesta friday…
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Thanks, Chitra! 🙂
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These muffins look divine! Love the warmth you get from gingerbread!
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Love these muffins, spicy gingerbread and blackberries what an amazing combination,
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Blackberries and ginger is very intriguing. Cupcakes are gorgeous. 😛
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Thank you, Fae! 🙂
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Such good looking muffins. Only if i could take one off the screen. 😀
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Wish I could pass one over to you through the screen, Sadia! 🙂
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Those muffins look so good with that glaze and berry on top – I agree, why not make them look pretty too! Thanks for bringing them to the party. I know the FF guests are enjoying them.
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This is a very interesting combination of flavors and your recipe I need to try – I make a lot of gingerbread but have never included blackberries 🙂
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I think I would love this recipe! I can almost taste them 🙂
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These look irresistible to me Nancy! Blackberries and gingerbread – not a combination I would have ever come up with but now that I see it here I can almost imagine the deliciousness of bringing these two together! Thanks for bringing this to Fiesta Friday! 🙂
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My hubby would love these–anything gingerbread, but the addition of blackberries, oh my! Thank you for the recipe. XOXO
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You’re welcome, Susan! 🙂
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This combo of flavours is really original. Can’t wait to try it 🙂
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That looks so so good! 😀
Love the photographs!
Happy Fiesta Friday!
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Thank you, Sarah! 🙂
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These look so sweet, the blackberries are ripening up a little earlier this year in the Pacific northwest, now I know one thing that I will be baking, Thanks!
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You’re welcome, Cheri! 🙂
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Oh, I know that these are going to be delicious! I can’t wait to make them! Your photos are so perfect, Nancy. .. LOVE. ❤
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Thanks, Prudy, and hope you have a great week! 🙂
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They look sooo appealing. Wow, thanks so much for sharing!
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wow these look and sound so good, I definitely need to try them!
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Nancy these look lovely! What a great way to use the blackberries from my garden 🙂
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Blackberry and gingerbread! Now that’s a new combo I need to try!
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