Celebrate the holidays with a delicious batch of flourless chocolate chip gingerbread muffins! They’re so soft and tender that you’ll never believe they’re made without flour, oil, or refined sugar!
I don’t remember being very fond of gingerbread as a little kid. That’s not to say that I hated it like I did brussels sprouts, fava beans, and sauerkraut, but it definitely wasn’t very high up on my list of favourite Christmas cookies. In fact, it ranked somewhere near the bottom; a small step above peanut butter blossoms, which were only demoted because of their very unfortunate association with peanut butter (read: I’m allergic to peanuts).
I think what I disliked most about gingerbread was the fact that, 99.9% of the time, the cookies were hard and crunchy — and that’s not okay for a girl who likes her cookies soft and chewy. That and I wasn’t keen on the idea of cookies being spicy; but then again, I wasn’t keen on the idea of anything being spicy. Heck, my definition of a perfectly good meal back in the day was a huge bowl of mashed potatoes or plain buttered noodles. Mmm hmm. I was a tad bit picky as a kid.
Fast forward a handful of years and… I’m still not overly fond of gingerbread cookies; but this time it has nothing to do with the spice (which I’ve grown to love) and everything to do with the texture. Crunchy chips and crackers are fine; crunchy cookies are not (no offence if they’re your thing!)
So what’s a girl to do if she wants to enjoy the festive flavour of gingerbread without the potential teeth-crackery that goes along with it? Make soft and fluffy gingerbread muffins instead!
But these aren’t just any gingerbread muffins — they’re flourless gingerbread muffins. With a handful of chocolate chips thrown in for good measure. Because chocolate chips make everything better, obviously.
Just like all of my other flourless muffins, these gingerbread ones are made without any flour, oil, or refined sugar. They’re gluten free as long as you use certified gluten free oats, and can easily be made vegan by swapping out the egg with 1 flax egg. Hands on time is about 5 minutes if you use the blender method, or 10 if you mix everything by hand. Either way, you only need one bowl to get the job done.
As far as taste and texture goes, you’ve got the rich and festive spiciness of gingerbread in a soft and doughy muffin. I do want to point out, though, that flourless muffins aren’t exactly like traditional muffins. The texture is slightly denser, and while they’re still doughy, they’re more of a melt-in-your-mouth kind of doughy. Oh, and if you’re wondering about the banana, it’s main purpose is to give the muffins shape and substance — you can’t taste it at all. The only thing you do taste is a festive blend of spices that screams Christmas and make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. So here’s to an awesome (and delicious) holiday season!
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Flourless Chocolate Chip Gingerbread Muffins
- Total Time: 17 mins
- Yield: 9 muffins 1x
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup creamy almond butter
- 1 large banana
- 1 large egg*
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1/2 cup quick oats**
- 2 Tbsp. almond milk
- 2 Tbsp. ground flax
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips, plus more for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F and prepare a muffin pan by spraying 9 cavities with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Add all ingredients except for chocolate chips to a high-powered blender*** and blend on high until oats are broken down and batter is smooth and creamy. Stir in chocolate chips by hand.
- Pour batter into prepared muffin pan, filling each cavity until it is about ¾ full and sprinkling more chocolate chips on top, if desired.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the tops of your muffins are set and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow muffins to cool in pan for ~10 minutes before removing. Store in an air-tight container for up to a week.
Notes
* You can also sub out the egg with one flax egg to make these vegan. Simply combine 1 Tbsp. of ground flax with 3 Tbsp. of water.
** Make sure to use certified gluten free oats if you need these to be gluten free.
*** If you don’t have access to a high-powered blender, you can simply grind the oats into a flour and mix everything together by hand.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 12 mins
Looking for more flourless muffin recipes? Try one of these!
Flourless Pumpkin Pie Muffins
Flourless Apple Cinnamon Muffins
Flourless Banana Bread Muffins
I was a bit worried when I put these in the oven, because I thought the batter smelled pretty awful. But the muffins themselves actually taste pretty good, though I have a hard time detecting the ginger flavor. I was also worried that the muffins would not be sweet enough, but this is not the case. Everyone in my family who’s tried them so far also likes them.
Sorry, last comment should have said “instead of almond butter!”
Peanut butter is totally fine!
Could I use peanut butter instead I often almond butter or would that completely change them?? Almond butter is so expensive