During my senior year of high school, my mom gave me a monthly subscription to Cooking Light Magazine, and I pored over each issue when it arrived in the mail. After reading the articles and admiring the photographs, I traced my finger down the list of ingredients in every recipe and carefully marked the ones I wanted to try.
Even back then, I gravitated more towards baking than cooking, so I mainly added cookies, muffins, and quick breads to my recipe list. I actually considered attending culinary school for a moment or two—that’s how much I loved to bake!
When the holiday issues showed up in our mailbox, I started my same ritual of slowly savoring the magazine page by page, but I paused when I reached a recipe for classic gingerbread. Growing up, I had only ever baked gingerbread men cookies with my family, so I hadn’t realized that those same flavors could be baked into a quick bread!
With how much I adored the cookies, I immediately walked into the kitchen, saving the rest of the magazine for later (basically unheard of for me!), and started pulling out measuring cups and mixing bowls. A little while later, I slid the 9”-square cake pan into the oven and set the timer, impatiently waiting for it to ring.
After pulling it from the middle rack and allowing it to cool on the stovetop for a few minutes, my mom and I each cut a small square from the corner of the pan for a taste test. Which turned into another tiny slice… And another… And another…
And by the next morning, half of the pan had magically disappeared!
I still find gingerbread just as tempting, so I try to turn it into treats with built-in portion control a little more often, rather than baking it in a regular cake pan. And as a lifelong chocoholic (which is why I published my Healthier Chocolate Treats Cookbook!), I love mixing chocolate into the batter too, which could be dangerous… It makes the gingerbread even more irresistible!
So last week, that’s exactly what I did with these Chocolate Chip Gingerbread Mini Muffins! With their small size, I can easily grab one, if I just want a little taste, or nibble on a couple more, if my stomach starts growling and needs a bigger snack. And with no butter, refined flour or sugar, I don’t feel guilty at all when I sneak a few extra!
HOW TO MAKE HEALTHY GINGERBREAD MINI MUFFINS
Ready to bake? And make your kitchen smell warm and cozy and oh-so-festive? That’s one of my favorite perks about gingerbread treats! I even bought multiple gingerbread-scented candles last winter and left one on my desk, deciding never to light it, just to make its aroma last all year. Yum!
But we aren’t here to talk about candles… We’re here to make muffins! To start, you’ll need white whole wheat flour. That sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? White whole wheat flour is actually made by finely grinding a special type of soft white wheat, whereas regular whole wheat flour comes from a heartier variety of red wheat, but they both have the same health benefits (like extra fiber!). White whole wheat flour has a lighter taste and texture, similar to that of all-purpose flour, and that makes these muffins taste exceptionally tender!
Note: Whole wheat pastry flour would be a great substitute, and I’ve included my preferred gluten-free option in the recipe as well.
With only 1 tablespoon of coconut oil or butter, these muffins get the rest of their tender texture from Greek yogurt. It’s one of my favorite ingredients in healthier baking! I’ve used it in everything from brownies and cupcakes to muffins and scones… And even frosting! It adds the same moisture to this batter as extra oil or butter, and it gives your mini muffins a protein boost, too.
For the iconic gingerbread flavor, you’ll need two ingredients: molasses and ground ginger. The latter is fairly obvious, I’m sure! I prefer my gingerbread on the spicy side, but you can easily reduce the amount of ginger for a less “zingy” flavor. The molasses provides the other half of the classic gingerbread taste with its rich, warm, subtly earthy flavor. It’s cheap, shelf-stable, and keeps for ages. Please don’t skip or substitute for it!
To sweeten your muffins, you’ll use another one of my favorite ingredients: liquid stevia. Stevia is a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener that’s clean eating friendly, and it’s very concentrated. You only need ¾ teaspoon to sweeten this entire recipe! This is the kind that I buy because I love its sweet flavor and don’t notice any strange aftertastes like with some other stevia products. You can find it at many health-oriented grocery stores, but I buy it online here because that’s the cheapest price I’ve found. (And you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!)
These are my all-time favorite mini chocolate chips! They taste very rich and melt really well. Biting into one of them all warm and melty and gooey… Pure bliss! You’ll want to use mini chocolate chips because their smaller size ensures the mini muffins bake evenly—and gives you at least one morsel of chocolate in every bite!
Would you blame me if I didn’t share a single one?? 😉 And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! 🙂 ) I’d love to see your healthy gingerbread mini muffins!
Healthy Chocolate Chip Gingerbread Mini Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups (240g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 ½ tbsp (9g) ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp (14g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup (60mL) 60mL molasses (not blackstrap!)
- ¾ tsp liquid stevia
- ½ cup + 2 tbsp (150mL) nonfat milk
- ¼ cup (56g) miniature chocolate chips, divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and lightly coat 32 mini muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter or coconut oil, egg whites and vanilla. Stir in the Greek yogurt, mixing until no large lumps remain. Mix in the molasses and stevia. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 3 equal parts.) Gently fold in 3 tablespoons of mini chocolate chips.
- Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups, and gently press the remaining chocolate chips into the tops. Bake at 350°F for 11-14 minutes or until the tops are firm to the touch. Cool in the muffin cups for 5 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack.
Notes
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ Chocolate Chip Gingerbread Scones
♡ Chocolate Chip Gingerbread Oatmeal Cookies
♡ Skinny Gingerbread Latte
♡ Classic Gingerbread with Maple Glaze
♡ Gingerbread Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
♡ Baked Gingerbread Donuts with Maple Glaze
♡ Banana Gingerbread Muffins
♡ Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Mini Muffins
♡ Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread Mini Muffins
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Chocolate Mini Muffins
♡ Chocolate Chip Banana Mini Muffins
♡ Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins
♡ …and the rest of Amy’s healthy gingerbread-flavored recipes and healthy muffin recipes!
I just LOVE gingerbread and these look absolutely adorable and delicious!! Whenever my mom and I cook together, half the pan always magically disappears too…I feel like our moms would be GREAT friends! 😉
That’s so fun about you and your mom! I totally bet they’d be friends too… If the two of us are any indication! 😉
I plan on trying these as well as your Pumpkin cheesecake bars i have two questions i bought hersheys special dark chocolate morsals i thought they were mini but they aren’t. Would I have to adjust the amount i put in?
Also I bought a regular stevia would that still be ok to use?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipes Krista! If you’d like to use your Hershey’s special dark morsels, then I recommend chopping them so that they’re about the same size as mini chocolate chips. That’s fine if you’re using a different stevia, but you’ll need to adjust the amount since different stevia products have different sweetness concentrations. See the Notes section underneath the Instructions on the liquid sweetener equivalent when determining the amount of your stevia product that you’ll need. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of the recipes!
Hi Amy,
I just discovered your wonderful site!! I was looking for some high protein good for you breakfast muffins, and there your site was. I have saved at least a dozen all ready.
I have a question about this one for you. I was wondering if it would be ok to substitute coconut syrup for the molasses. The coconut syrup tastes very similar to molasses, but it’s not quite as thick.
Thank you and keep up the amazing work,
Debra
Thank you so much for your kind words Debra! I’m truly touched that you’ve saved so many of my recipes already. That means the world to me! 🙂 I have no experience with coconut syrup, but if you’ve been able to substitute it for molasses in other recipes, then I’m guessing it’ll work in mine as well. I can’t wait to hear what recipe you try first!
I am interested in your recipes for healthier eating, however, I recently found out that I can’t eat eggs: yolk or whites. Do you have any idea what I can use to supplement for eggs in your chocolate chip gingerbread mini muffins, for example?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipes Maria! My brother is actually allergic to eggs, and Ener-G is my favorite egg replacer. It works perfectly in nearly all of my recipes, including this one! For my recipes, you’ll need 1 ½ teaspoons of Ener-G + 2 tablespoons of warm water for each egg white, and you’ll need ½ tablespoon of melted butter or coconut oil for each egg yolk. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these mini muffins!
Thank you so much for your info on Ener-G as an egg substitute along with coconut oil for baking. I’m thrilled to be able to find recipes like yours now that I am needing to avoid eggs in my diet. I’m totally looking forward to trying your Chocolate Chip Gingerbread Mini Muffins as soon as I can get the Ener-G!
It’s my pleasure Maria! I can’t wait to hear what you think of these! 🙂
Hello. I love baking psilium husk bread almost every day but this looks so yummy and I’d like to try but.. actually I don’t have fridge at home. Is there any alternative instead of Greek yoghurt??
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Eriko! If you’re able to find regular (non-Greek!) yogurt, that would be the best substitute. Many dairy-free yogurts (ie soy-, almond-, or coconut-based) should work decently too. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think of these gingerbread muffins if you try making them!
Thank you so much for your reply.. But actually I don’t have fridge so I can’t store any kind of yogurts. 😢 I saw your recipe but lots of your recipe includes yogurts.. Is there any alternative instead of yogurts?? Something I don’t need to store in a fridge??
It’s my pleasure, Eriko! What do you do for milk and eggs? How do you store and/or use them? If you’re able to buy and use those the same day, shortly before you prepare and bake a recipe, then one alternative would be to purchase single-serving Greek yogurt cups, such as these, at the grocery store on the same day you’re making one of my recipes. Many single-serving yogurt cups contain a little over ½ cup of Greek yogurt, and since the majority of my recipes call for right around ½ cup, you wouldn’t end up wasting it! 🙂
(And for what it’s worth, I actually do this too! Especially right before I’m about to go on travel and know I won’t finish off an entire full-sized tub of Greek yogurt. It’s a really handy trick! 😉 )
That’s so true.. And actually now I’ve got a fridge. ☺️ So no problem. I can’t wait to try the recipe.. 💓
That’s wonderful! I’m really looking forward to hearing what you think of these, Eriko! 🙂