These moist and tender paleo Gingerbread Muffins are packed with spices and just the right amount of sweetness. Perfect for holiday baking, snacks, and even dessert with the sweet maple lemon icing! Gluten-free, dairy-free.
It’t just not December without a good gingerbread recipe with icing, don’t you think? Last year I made this ridiculously tasty orange gingerbread coffee cake and this year, I was dreaming about muffins.
Muffins are perfect because 1. They’re fast and easy to make 2. They’re basically cupcakes that are “okay” to eat for breakfast.
I say “okay” because duh – you make your own rules about breakfast and who says you can’t eat cake or cupcakes in the first place?
But gingerbread muffins – breakfast, second breakfast (raising hand), snack, dessert or whatever you make them – they are going to make you happy.
The muffins themselves use a blend of 2 flours – blanched almond and tapioca – which helps give them incredible texture.
Then we have eggs, maple syrup, blackstrap molasses, vanilla and almond extracts, and coconut oil for the wet ingredients.
The muffins are spiced with plenty of Primal Palate Gingersnap Spice – one of my favorite blends! You can totally make your own spice blend though if you can’t get this one – instructions in the recipe box.
The muffins are delicious without the icing, but honestly I just can’t resist drizzling a good icing over basically everything lately! Icing is my mood this time of year, you know? Yes that does sound strange, but it’s not a typo 😉
Anyway, since I learned how to make my own paleo powdered sugar with either maple or coconut sugar, icing has become WAY more fun. If you’re okay using organic powdered sugar, you can totally do that as well.
However, making powdered sugar is as simple as putting maple or coconut sugar in a food processor with a bit of tapioca flour. You can use the resulting powdered sugar in any icing recipe in place of store bought confectioner sugar. Pretty cool, right?
Depending on the sugar you use, your icing will wind up anywhere from light caramel color to a darker brown (if you use coconut sugar.)
For the photos, I used organic powdered sugar to get a nice white icing. I personally prefer the flavor of maple sugar for my icing, though.
To say these went over well would be a huge understatement – they were gone by day’s end! Even my pick little guy liked them, and actually ate the muffin part in addition to the icing. That’s a 5 star review in my house.
With the sweet spices, deep flavor of the molasses and the maple lemon icing, these muffins will surely be a hit with everyone – not just the paleo crowd!
I hope you’re ready to bake these deee-lish paleo gingerbread muffins. And also prepared to hide a couple for you and you alone! Let’s grab and apron (they’re just fun) and go!
Paleo Gingerbread Muffins with Lemon Icing
Paleo Gingerbread Muffins with Lemon Icing
Ingredients
Lemon Icing:
- 1/2 cup organic powdered sugar or homemade paleo powdered sugar* (using maple sugar)
- 1 1/2 tsp pure maple syrup
- 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice you may need up to 2 tsp to get the thickness right
- 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
Muffins:
- 3 eggs room temp
- 1/4 cup almond milk unsweetened
- 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup coconut oil melted and cooled
- 6 Tbsp organic coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
- 1/2 tsp pure almond extract
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups blanched almond flour
- 6 Tbsp tapioca flour
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 tbsp Gingersnap Spice from Primal Palate, plus 1/2 tsp cinnamon OR
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp ginger
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
Instructions
- Line a 12 cup muffin pan with parchment liners and preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl, stir, and set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk the eggs with the almond milk, lemon juice, coconut sugar, and molasses until well combined. Add the melted coconut oil, vanilla, and almond extract and whisk until smooth.
- With a wooden spoon or silicone spatula, stir the dry ingredients into the wet gently until just moistened and no flour spots show.
- Transfer batter to prepared muffin pan, filling about 3/4 full to make 12 muffins. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-18 minutes or until muffins set and rise - a toothpick inserted in the center of one should come out with a dry crumb.
Allow muffins to cool for 5 mins before transferring to wire racks to cool completely. While muffins cool, prepare the icing. Whisk together the icing ingredients in a medium bowl, and drizzle over the cooled muffins.
Store leftovers at room temp, covered, for one day and in the refrigerator for up to 4 more days. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
* To make your own paleo powdered sugar, combined 1 cup maple sugar (or coconut sugar) and 1 Tbsp tapioca flour in a food processor or high speed blender and blend until a powdery consistency is reached. Use just the amount of the resulting mixture specified in the recipe (1/2 cup) and save the rest for another use.
Nutrition
Shop Products and Ingredients:
Want More Paleo Muffin Recipes? Try One Of These!
Sweet Potato Cinnamon Raisin Muffins
Banana Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins
Double Chocolate Banana Tahini Muffins
Pumpkin Muffins with Cinnamon Streusel
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Made them this morning for my bible study group. They were so good! I can’t believe it, the texture (and flavor) is spot on! ??
I made the gingerbread muffins this morning and they are fabulous in all ways! The muffin itself is spicy but not too spicy and tastes like any other muffin. The icing is perfect too – I made a 1/2 recipe of the icing and there was plenty for each muffin. I can always tell if a recipe is going to be good and have crumbs if it has tapioca flour/starch in the recipe. I didn’t have blackstrap molasses but used regular molasses and it worked just fine. Really enjoyed this recipe.
I love gingerbread muffins! This icing sounds so delicious and they look perfect for Christmas!
WOW these are SO good!! And I haven’t even put the icing on yet. I used 4tbsp of coconut sugar instead of 6 in the muffins and they were perfect for my taste. Thanks for all the amazing recipes!!
Didn’t have time to make the icing but everyone still loved them.
Delicious!!! Thanks for this great festive recipe.
Could this recipe be made egg free?
Unfortunately I haven’t tried egg subs so I’m not sure.
Wonderful!
Absolutely wonderful! So moist and flavor is incredible, my 15 year old grandson gobbled them up, and he is a “picky” eater. This recipe is a keeper. Thank you for sharing
Made these tonight and they’re awesome. I was craving gingerbread cookies but don’t have the ambition to roll out, cut out, bake and ice so these muffins are my hero! All the gingerbread love in a fraction of the time! They’ll be a holiday staple from now on. My husband inhaled 3 without blinking. 🙂
Just made these and they are delicious. I didn’t have almond extract so I used a splash of amaretto instead. I like the texture of the muffins, unlike some other almond flour muffin recipes I have tried. Haven’t glazed them yet, but I don’t even think they need it!
I tried to make the glaze with the ingredients and amounts listed (for paleo powdered sugar) and it came out very clumping and dark. Doesn’t look a thing like your glaze. Using tsp amounts don’t come anywhere near being enough liquid for 1/2 cup of powdered” sugar.
The muffins are super yummy but disappointed with the glaze.
These are incredible!
Paleo Christmas cakes you share very delicious and fancy. with many eye-catching shapes. I think my children will love these cakes.
My batter was sticky and the molasses went to the bottom. Not sure what caused this. I didn’t have lemon juice and substitutes coconut milk for almond. Tastes good, but…is Apple cider vinegar a good substitute for lemon juice?
Tenderest, tastiest gingerbread muffins ever! We love them. Made these twice and they are perfect—they actually made those wonderful overhanging muffin tops in my pan. The second time I doubled the icing to fully ice them—so delicious!
Have you used a different flour? I made them and they were wonderful! I have a friend with a almond and coconut allergy …..wanting her to experience the gingerbread bliss !
Thank you so much for this recipe!! I’ve made it twice now and they turned out amazing both times. Thank you for a Christmas muffin option that I can actually eat!
Could this recipe be modified to make an 8 x 8 dessert? Let me know how. Thanks!
These were delicious!! I replaced the coconut sugar with monkfruit and halved the amount of molasses. Also used a coconut butter/lemon frosting from some of your other recipes. The whole batch was gone in a day 🙂