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. 
Aren’t they the best? They’re so addicting. I’ve actually starting using the same ingredients, but mixing them like a more traditional chocolate chip cookie (i.e., softened butter instead of melted), because I like the dough better with softened butter. The baked cookies were just as good. Best of both worlds!
These look gorgeous. Don’t you just love AB??? 🙂
The cookies look great. I love AB too..he’s such a dork (in a good way).
I love the ATK/CI Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies. I will have to try these to see what I think. I remember seeing that the recipes looked similar so I am sure I will love them.
Another AB lover here. My husband gives me a hard time about my DVR list with him but loves it when I give him a fun tidbit or cook him something from AB.
I completely agree CoCo. Hubby does the same thing. I sometimes even watch episodes I’ve seen before! Hubby doesn’t like to admit it, but he loves AB too. Sometimes he’ll be the one saying “AB says to do this…”
They look SO good!! I am a sucker for a chewy chocolate chip cookie. Although, I must side with your hubby – I prefer mine with just a bit of chocolate.
How much is a stick of butter? I’m not in the US and have never come across this measurement before.
Sorry about that Naomi – 1 stick of butter = 8 Tbsp. Does that help?
this is very similar to the ccc recipe i use, but anything that makes it chewier is good in my books! i will have to keep this one in mind 🙂
Yes Jen, thank you!
Yum! I will definitely be trying these. I always chill my cookie dough too usually because I’m too busy with 3 little ones but I also read that article in the NY times awhile ago and I felt like I deserved a nice big pat on the back for always doing the 24hour chill 🙂 Great post and beautiful cookies!
I love Alton Brown because of his scientific approach to cooking and baking. I’ve been baking “The Chewy” for years. One thing I do differently: Before chilling the dough, I scoop it into balls. This makes the process much easier. Sometimes I freeze the balls for baking later. After I place the balls on parchment, I carefully place a few extra chocolate morsels on top, pointy side up. This extra step produces picture-perfect cookies every time.
The Chewy is my go to recipe for cookies. I make a few alterations, occasionally, such as substituting 1/4 of the brown sugar with dark brown sugar. I bake small portions in mini muffin tins; one batch makes 48 cookie bites that are super chewy and the perfect size bite. I’ve made them every year for Christmas gifts for a few years now.