Gingerbread Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
Gingerbread is a classic holiday flavor. I actually had never had gingerbread until I met Hubby. I guess it just wasn’t part of my eating background growing up. A few years ago I made some gingerbread cut out cookies that had a lemon cream cheese frosting piped onto them. I was remembering those cookies when I decided to make these cupcakes. I’m entering these cupcakes into Baking Bites Holiday Cupcake Contest (and just barely in time since entries are due by midnight tonight!)
I love these cupcakes because they have very festive sprinkles, (I love sprinkles), festive colors, and festive flavors. For the frosting, I made a lemon cream cheese frosting. Lemon actually pairs really well with gingerbread even though most people gave a weird look when I told them the frosting flavor.
I mentioned the festive colors. Not only are the sprinkles red and green, but the cupcake liners are as well. I love the vibrant colors of these liners and I’m hoping Santa brought me some more, because I’m starting to run low.
Gingerbread Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
Yield: 24
Ingredients:
For the Gingerbread Cupcakes
1 1/2 c flour
2 Tbsp ground ginger
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 1/2 c (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temp
1 1/2 c sugar
3 Tbsp molasses
4 eggs, at room temp
1 tsp vanilla extract
For the Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 stick unsalted butter
4 cups confectioners' sugar
Zest of 1 lemon, grated
2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Directions:
For the Gingerbread Cupcakes
Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin tins with paper liners.
Sift flour and spices together and set aside.
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add molasses and beat until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined. Beat in vanilla. With mixer on low, add flour mixture until just combined.
Fill each muffin tin ~3/4 full. Bake ~25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely.
For the Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
With an electric mixer on medium, beat the cream cheese and butter until softened. Slowly add the sugar, zest, and juice and beat until creamy, about 3 minutes.
Gingerbread Cupcakes recipe from Martha Stewart
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting recipe adapted from 52 Cupcakes
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
Hmm it seems like your blog ate my first
comment (it was super long) so I guess I’ll just sum it up what I had written and
say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog. I too am an aspiring blog blogger but I’m still new to everything.
Do you have any points for beginner blog writers?
I’d really appreciate it.
They sound awesome! Everything I like–hubby has good taste! You might want to edit–it says chocolate chips and I assume you mean butterscotch chips. Can’t wait to try them. Thanks a lot.
beantownbaker — February 12th, 2014 @ 12:46 pm
Thanks for the heads up. I have fixed the typo.
I must admit that in reading this post I turned to my fiance and asked him what his favorite kind of cookie was (we’ve been together 5 1/2 years). His response: peanut butter chocolate chip. You learn something new every day 🙂
I too love butterscotch (and coconut and toffee for that matter!) but it is such an overlooked flavor!
beantownbaker — February 12th, 2014 @ 12:46 pm
Isn’t that funny?!? Crazy how you can be with someone so long and still be surprised by them!
In the recipe you, you say to add chocolate chips(?) and there is no reference to when you add the toffee or the coconut…
beantownbaker — February 12th, 2014 @ 12:45 pm
They go in with the butterscotch chips. I have updated the recipe to reflect this. Sorry about the typo.
Thank you for the nice recipe.
kind of amazing/awesome that there’s still more to discover about him after all these years! 🙂
Wow, what a combination! These cookies sound heavenly 🙂
Yes yes yes! Butterscotch and coconut together! It works it does.