I’m partnering with Stevia In The Raw® to bring you today’s recipe! I love their zero-calorie stevia products. They’re so easy to use and perfect for baking!
Every year, I always wait until Thanksgiving ends to start the winter holiday season. Some people pull out their Christmas trees and sing along with festive carols as soon as November begins, but I prefer to slowly savor each season and enjoy one holiday at a time.
With the clean dishes drying in the sink and the leftovers safely tucked away in the refrigerator, my family often kicks off the Christmas season with a holiday movie on Thanksgiving night. We alternate between Rudolph, Olive the Other Reindeer, and A Charlie Brown Christmas, three of our favorites (and we sometimes sneak an extra slice of pie while the credits roll!).
The next morning, Mom usually climbs into the attic and carries down boxes upon boxes of lights and decorations. She generally starts with the dining room table, setting out deep crimson charger plates topped with white dinner plates with gold trim in front of each chair, followed by centerpieces of candles and poinsettias.
Dad and I volunteer to work on the artificial tree (the rest of my family is allergic to real ones!), and after we fluff each branch, we carefully string rows and rows of colorful twinkly lights around and around the tree. We wait to start decorating until after Dad places the Santa tree topper and Mom hangs up their very first Christmas ornament at the top of the tree, a little angel from their honeymoon in Hawaii.
This year, I decided to bake these Healthy One-Bowl Gingerbread Muffins as a festive treat to enjoy while starting the holiday decorating! They’re supremely moist with lots of cozy spice flavors, yet they contain no refined flour or sugar and just 123 calories!
Judging by how quickly they disappeared around my family… I need to bake a double batch next time!
Let’s go over how to make these healthy one-bowl gingerbread muffins!
You’ll start with… A big mixing bowl! Probably pretty obvious, right? 😉 In that bowl, you’ll whisk together a teensy bit of melted butter (or coconut oil!), egg whites, and vanilla. Yes, just an itty bitty amount—a mere 1 teaspoon of butter! But I promise these healthy one-bowl gingerbread muffins are still supremely moist and fluffy, and I’ll tell you why soon!
Next, you’ll whisk in the spices and salt. You’re using ginger (impossible to make gingerbread muffins without it!), cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. I prefer my healthy one-bowl gingerbread muffins on the spicy side, so I’m pretty generous with the ginger. It just tastes so warm and cozy and comforting!
Note: I prefer whisking in the spices and salt now, rather than later with the flour, to prevent clumping and ensure they’re evenly distributed throughout the batter!
Time for that secret ingredient that keeps these muffins so moist! And that’s… Greek yogurt! If you’ve browsed through my recipes before, then you probably know that it’s one of my favorite ingredients in healthy baking. It adds the same moisture as extra butter or oil but for a fraction of the calories, and it gives your healthy one-bowl gingerbread muffins a protein boost too!
Next, you’ll stir in two different sweeteners. Yes, two! They’re both equally important in creating the best healthy one-bowl gingerbread muffins. The first is molasses. Along with ginger, molasses is what gives gingerbread its iconic taste. Ginger provides the cozy spice flavor, while molasses contributes a deep richness.
The second is stevia. Specifically, Stevia In The Raw® Bakers Bag! Stevia is a zero-calorie sweetener that contains an extract from the stevia plant, and Stevia In The Raw® Bakers Bag sweetens cup-for-cup like regular sugar. It’s so easy and handy to use in baking recipes to reduce calories without sacrificing flavor (up to 700 calories are saved for every cup of sugar swapped!), like with these healthy one-bowl gingerbread muffins!
Once you’ve stirred in the milk, it’s time to add the last three ingredients: white whole wheat flour, baking powder, and baking soda. White whole wheat flour is made by finely grinding a special type of soft white wheat (hence the name!), whereas regular whole wheat flour comes from a heartier variety of red wheat. They have the same health benefits (like extra fiber!), but white whole wheat flour has a lighter taste and texture… Which lets the sweet flavor and moist texture of these healthy one-bowl gingerbread muffins truly shine!
Just remember… Do not dump the baking powder and baking soda into the bowl! After adding the flour in, gently sprinkle them on top. Sprinkling the leaveners, rather than dumping them in the center, prevents clumping and ensures your healthy one-bowl gingerbread muffins rise properly!
Hint: You wait to add the baking powder and baking soda now, rather than with the spices, to ensure they’re not activated too early—especially the baking soda! Baking soda is activated as soon as it comes into contact with liquids, and if it’s activated too early, your muffins won’t rise. (Oops!) So that’s why you wait to add it until the very end!
One last tip for you! If you’re using muffin liners like I did in these photos, remember to generously coat your muffin liners with cooking spray. Low-fat batters, like with this healthy one-bowl gingerbread muffins recipe, tend to stick to liners like superglue. Yet if you mist the liners with cooking spray, they peel away from your muffins much more easily!
Who else is ready for a festive holiday breakfast?? 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 health one-bowl gingerbread muffins!
| Healthy One-Bowl Gingerbread Muffins | | Print |
- 1 tsp unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp (10g) ground ginger
- ¾ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup (60mL) molasses
- ½ cup (12g) Stevia In The Raw® Bakers Bag
- 1 cup (240mL) nonfat milk
- 2 ½ cups (300g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free flour (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and coat a 12 muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray. (If using paper or metallic liners, place them in each muffin cup and coat the liners with nonstick cooking spray.)
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the butter, egg whites, and vanilla. Whisk in the ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Add in the Greek yogurt, stirring until no large lumps remain. Stir in the molasses and Stevia In The Raw®. Stir in the milk. Pour in the flour. Gently sprinkle the baking powder and baking soda on top of the flour; then gently stir everything together until just incorporated.
- Spread the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake at 350°F for 19-22 minutes or until the centers feels firm to the touch. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour.
It’s very important to measure the flour correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. Too much will dry out your muffins, instead of resulting in the moist and tender texture they should have.
The molasses is essential to create the gingerbread flavor. It’s inexpensive, shelf-stable, and keeps for ages. I do not recommend substituting for it! In a pinch, you can substitute pure maple syrup, honey, or agave, but the muffins will no longer have that classic gingerbread taste.
Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.
By sprinkling the baking powder and baking soda over the flour, instead of pouring or dumping them in the middle, it helps prevent clumps and ensures your muffins rise properly.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, lower sugar}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
This post was sponsored by Stevia In The Raw®. As always, all text, opinions, photographs, and recipe are my own.
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ Healthy Chocolate Chip Gingerbread Mini Muffins
♡ Healthy Apple Gingerbread Bran Muffins
♡ Healthy Chocolate Chip Gingerbread Scones
♡ Healthy Gingerbread Oatmeal Snack Cake
♡ Healthy Morning Glory Gingerbread
Hi Amy!
What would be a good substitute for the dairy in this recipe?
The best alternative for the Greek yogurt would be a dairy-free yogurt (ie soy- or almond-based yogurt). Then use your favorite dairy-free milk and the coconut oil instead of the butter! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think of these gingerbread muffins if you try them Sarah!
These turned out fabulous! They disappeared so fast. I substituted regular sugar and sour cream with excellent results. Topped with pearl sugar to make it a little more festive. Thanks so much for sharing a wonderful and easy recipe.
I’m so glad you enjoyed these muffins Denise! That means so much to me! Thanks for sharing your recipe modifications too — I always love hearing what tweaks work! 🙂