These moist & warmly spiced Gingerbread Cupcakes will make your kitchen smell like Christmas. A Cream Cheese Cinnamon Buttercream gets piled on high to finish these holiday-worthy cupcakes.

Gingerbread Cupcakes.

Have you ever wanted your kitchen to smell like Christmas?  You know, the mixed aroma of warm spices like ginger, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg wafting through the air.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the aroma of peanut butter fudge when I’m making it, or Christmas cookies in the oven, but there’s just something about the smell of gingerbread that says Christmas is officially here, whether it be cookies, cake or cupcakes, as long as it’s gingerbread.

This past week, I spent one whole day in my kitchen making candy.  By the next day, I was in the mood for making anything but candy.  That’s when I decided it was time for some Christmas music and the warm aroma of gingerbread and spices.  Yep, it was time for something gingerbread and cupcakes were the first thing to enter my mind.  I didn’t want to make a whole lot of cupcakes, just about a dozen or so.  You know, enough to hit the spot.

Gingerbread Cupcakes.

After taste testing and adjusting the spices in the batter a few times, I finally achieved the perfect blend of spices I was looking for and I knew just the perfect frosting to complete these yummy cupcakes.  I wanted creamy cream cheese, butter and a little warmth.  Cinnamon was the winner.  Recap…cream cheese, butter, cinnamon and for sweetness some powdered sugar.  Oh and I threw in a little salt to offset all of the sweetness.  What a perfect complement to these tender warmly spiced cupcakes.

But wait…after I piped on plenty of that delicious Cinnamon Cream Cheese Buttercream, there still seemed to be something missing…a topper!  I knew just the thing.  I decided to mix up a batch of my favorite gingerbread cookies and used some of the cookie batter to cut out and bake tiny gingerbread men.  I refrigerated the rest of the batter for making big soft cookies for Christmas.  I mixed up a tiny amount of icing and decorated the mini gingerbread men, then I placed them on top of the creamy buttercream.  Job Done!

Note:  If you don’t have the time to make tiny gingerbread cookies, Wilton sells small confection gingerbread men.

Hold on a minute.  I am a sugarholic, but no, I can’t eat a dozen cupcakes by myself.  They also seemed too cute to eat.  I know…gift them!!  I wrapped two of them up in a cute little box to send over to my mother-n-law and gave some to my friend Sandra.

Gingerbread Cupcakes.
Gingerbread Cupcakes.

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Gingerbread Cupcakes With Cinnamon Cream Cheese Buttercream

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  • Author: Cindy Gibbs @ My Country Table
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 20
  • Total Time: 35
  • Yield: 12 1x
  • Category: Cupcakes
  • Method: Bake
  • Cuisine: American

Description

These moist cupcakes are filled with all the wonderful spices that say Christmas. Creamy cinnamon buttercream gets piled on high for a delicious finish.


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • For the Cupcakes
  • 1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar (you can use dark if you prefer)
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup unsulphured molases
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the Cinnamon Cream Cheese Buttercream

  • 1 package, cream cheese, softened, 8 ounce
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 tablespoons half & half or milk
  • 5 cups powdered sugar


Instructions

For the Cupcakes

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Line a 12 count muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and dry spices (next 7 ingredients) and set aside.
  4. Add the butter and brown sugar to a large mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, mix on medium speed until the butter and sugar mixture is creamy. Add the egg, oil, molasses and vanilla. Mix on medium speed for about 1 minute until all ingredients are well combined. Add the dry ingredients slowly, mixing on low speed. Mix just until the dry ingredients are incorporated. Do not over mix.
  5. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full. Bake for approximately 20 – 25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out with just slightly moist crumbs.
  6. Allow pan to set for 5 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to a wire rack to finish cooling. Do not frost cupcakes until they are thoroughly cooled.

For the Cinnamon Cream Cheese Buttercream

  1. Add the cream cheese to the bowl of a stand mixer or use a hand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, if using a stand mixer, whisk the cream cheese until it is very creamy and free of all lumps. Add the butter, vanilla, salt and cinnamon and mix on medium speed until well combined. Add 1 tablespoon of the half & half and 1 cup of the sugar while mixing on low speed. Continue adding sugar one cup at a time, ending with the last tablespoon of half & half.
  2. To frost cupcakes, fill a pastry bag 2/3 full with the buttercream, using the decorating tip of your choice. I used Ateco 808 on the cupcakes pictured. This frosting is more than enough to pipe an abundant amount on 12 cupcakes. If frosting with a knife and not piling the frosting on high, frosting is enough to decorate 24 cupcakes.
  3. Refrigerate cupcakes and bring to room temperature before serving.

Notes

  • Inspired by King Arthur Flour