Nothing says "holiday" like gingerbread. Gingerbread cookies, gingerbread cake, gingerbread muffins, and moist Gingerbread Cupcakes with Eggnog Cream Cheese Frosting are all part of the run-up to Christmas. I love to decorate my tree with giant gingerbread men and women. The decorations are made inedible by a batter of way too much flour and gingerbread spices and orange zest so the cookies will last the entire holiday season. My gingerbread tree decorations make the house smell like a giant gingerbread house. The good thing here is that I do not have a cat who might think these ornaments a perfect treat.
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MARY'S TWO CENTS
WHY YOU'LL LOVE THIS RECIPE
These homemade cupcakes have the wonderful flavor of gingerbread from the warm spices, and the richness of eggnog in the tangy cream cheese frosting, making it one of my favorite gingerbread recipes. Ever wonder why some cupcakes are perfect and others aren't? Check out Better Homes and Gardens article 5 Steps to Perfect Cupcakes According to Baking Experts. Our favorite tip from the article is, "If you've baked them to eat right away, we recommend storing cupcakes at room temperature. But if they're for tomorrow, freezing them will retain their moisture much better than leaving them on a countertop overnight."
INGREDIENTS
Gingerbread Cupcake Ingredients
Eggnog Frosting Ingredients
Granulated sugar
Molasses
Eggs
Softened butter
All purpose flour
Baking powder
Salt
Ground Ginger
Ground Cinnamon
Cloves (just a little bit)
Milk
Cream cheese
Unsalted Butter
Eggnog- homemade or storebought
Powdered sugar
For the full recipe with quantities, see the recipe card at the end of the post.
STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE GINGERBREAD CUPCAKES
Blend sugar, molasses, butter, and eggs in the bowl of an electric mixer.
Mix on low speed until ingredients are fully incorporated.
Set the wet ingredients aside and measure out the flour mixture.
In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and clove.
Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and blend until well incorporated.
Mix on medium until the dry ingredients are completely incorporated.
Add milk to batter and blend until smooth.
The batter is ready when it is creamy and smooth.
Scoop cupcake batter into cupcake liners and bake for 18-25 minutes.
Remove cupcakes from the oven and place on a wire cooling rack to cool.
STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE EGGNOG FROSTING
For the frosting, add butter and cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer.
Whip the butter and cream cheese on medium speed until thoroughly mixed.
Add eggnog and powdered sugar 2 cups at a time.
Whip with each addition of powdered sugar until the frosting is smooth.
Add frosting to a piping bag with 1M piping tip and frost the cupcakes.
Keep the cupcakes in the refrigerator until ready to enjoy.
EQUIPMENT
- Stand mixer or hand mixer
- Muffin tin or cupcake pan
- Piping bag with tip
- Wire rack
LOOKING FOR MORE CUPCAKES AND MUFFINS?
EGGNOG FAQ's
Eggnog is a closed compound word, which is a word derived from two separate words joined together without a space between them.
Eggnog is historically also known as a milk punch, or egg milk punch when alcoholic beverages are added. It is a rich, chilled, sweetened, dairy-based beverage. You can buy it in grocery stores or make it yourself at home.
While brandy is the most traditional alcohol to add in for eggnog, you can also use a mixture of dark rum and Cognac. If you like your eggnog a little boozier, you can also add bourbon, but sticking to rum and Cognac is recommended to preserve the eggnog flavor.
FOOD STORAGE TIPS
Cupcakes will last for 2-3 days if refrigerated in an airtight container.
Equipment
- Stand mixer or hand mixer
- Muffin tin
- Piping bag with tip
- Wire rack
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup molasses
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup softened butter
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon clove
- ¾ cup milk
For the frosting:
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- ½ cup butter room temperature
- ½ cup eggnog
- 5 cups powdered sugar (also called confectioners or icing sugar)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Add cupcake liners to two 12-serving cupcake pans and set aside.
- In your electric mixer using the paddle attachment, blend sugar, molasses, butter, and eggs.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and clove until well incorporated.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and blend until well incorporated.
- Add milk to batter and blend until smooth.
- Scoop cupcake batter into cupcake liners and bake for 15-20 minutes.
- Remove cupcakes from the oven and place on a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- For the frosting, whip butter and cream cheese with a stand mixer.
- Add the eggnog and powdered sugar, 2 cups at a time, and whip until you reach desired consistency.
- Add frosting to a piping bag with a 1M piping tip and frost the cupcakes. You can also just apply the frosting with an offset spatula or butter knife.
- Keep leftovers in the refrigerator until ready to enjoy.
Jess says
The ingredients say baking powder but the instructions say baking soda. I assume (and hope) it’s baking powder.
Mary says
Oops Santa's little helper missed that. I made the corrections. Thanks for the head's up. Happy Holidays!
Oscar says
Two of my favorite flavors during the holiday season are gingerbread and eggnog, I am saving these for the holidays, it looks so good and I can't wait to make them. Thanks for the recipe.
Amy Liu Dong says
This is a perfect dessert to make for my sister's birthday.
She loves gingerbread so much and I am sure she will be happy having this on her birthday! Thank you!
Matej @ CookWeWill.Com says
Lovely cupcakes that turned out really great! The taste was amazing. I have to admit mine didn't look as perfect as yours, but my kids devoured all of them within a few minutes anyways 🙂