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’ve never been a huge fan of gingerbread, but my these pictures had me drooling! And reaching for some more dark chocolate…oh the things you make me do! 😉
As you might have guessed, my favorite Christmas cookie has always been anything with chocolate!
When I was a kid, I was never a picky eater. My parents always praised my sister and I for our “hearty” appetites. Celiac disease changed that a bit, but now I just eat a lot of gluten free goodies! Like these cookies! 😀
These look incredible. I am in love with molasses. And a bit of chocolate always helps out!
Thanks Michelle!
I love the store bought sugar cookies with the frosting!
I saw these muffins on your instagram and drooled! delicious!
These look AMAZING! Hate to be that commenter, but do you think applesauce would work in place of the banana? Just for the moisture aspect, I’m guessing it would be fine…
I’ve always loved gingerbread! (BTW: Gingerbread Almond Butter! http://youtu.be/JE9y48ElZcw )
I was SUCH a picky eater when I was little. I literally went 2 years without eating fruit. WHAT?!! I KNOW! I also hated yogurt, peanut butter, cheese, and a variety of other things. Glad to say I have changed my ways!
http://youtube.com/sparklesandsuch26
I’ve made a variation with applesauce before and they turned out fine! You’ll need about 1/2 cup.
Hooray! Thanks 🙂
http://youtube.com/sparklesandsuch26
True that, I never liked crunchy cookies. I was all about the soft frosted cookies … But who needs cookies when you can have the epitome of soft and tender; muffins! You are the queen of flourless muffins. Seriously. And these sounds like the perfect breakfast treat! Pinning, and if these are anything like your pumpkin ones, joining my weekly muffin baking!
I love that you included a vegan option! Wooo.
You seriously have me craving these asap. I kind of want to make these for tomorrow.
I don’t know if I’ll be able to with my ankle but I’m willing to try! haha
Yes yes yes! Totally with you about gingerbread cookies. Or crunchy cookies in general. So not okay! Cookies should be soft and chewy. Or they can be crunchy on the outside, but they must be chewy on the inside. You and I need to open our own nut-free, chewy-cookies-only bakery lol. 😉
Deal! I vote we set up shop in the mountains 😀
You are the “flourless” queen!! Not to mention these photos make me want to skip dinner and just have these slathered in melty peanut butter 🙂 I actually wasn’t a gingerbread fan growing up either but I love the idea of making gingerbread houses and making these muffins! Pinning for sure!
…..You know my thoughts. However after seeing these pictures…you may MAY have converted me. I guess I’ll need to whip these up to convince myself!
DO EEEET!
Yum chick – these looks so good. And I swooon over gingerbread so sign me up 🙂 As always I think you spice things the way I would, which is heavily so you can actually taste the spice! Perfection!
When it comes to spice, go big or go home
i’m on a chocolate and ginger overload these days, and i’m okay with it. Bring it! and bring on the smell of these baking, oh my!
I’m not usually as big on flourless (nut butter based recipes) but I would be willing to give this a go because I love gingerbread and I love chocolate chips!
When I was a kid, pretty much anything was fair game 😀
Whar would you suggest one to use to make them grain free? Coconut or almond flour? How much?
Almond flour should work fine. And 1/2 cup should be enough.
Favorite Christmas Cookie: One we’ve been making for years…Just flour, butter, cream cheese, sugar, and raspberry jelly on top…So simple and so good! 🙂
No picky eater here…The only thing I wouldn’t eat was salmon, but now I cannot get enough of it!
The simple recipes really are the best, and that cookie combo sounds pretty darn amazing!
These look so great! I love that there are no “complicated” ingredients involved…I have everything in the pantry except for the molasses 🙂
Your dessert recipes always look so great! I have to just dive in and do a recipe instead of saving them! Lol
😆 Oh believe me — I’m horrible with that as well. I don’t even know where to begin when I look at my Pinterest boards…
Ummm, YUM! I am totally with you on the whole crunchy cookie thing. I would way rather have a fluffy, moist, soft cookie/brownie/anything than a hard, crunchy cookie. That was always my association with gingerbread as a kid too. But these look simply divine and perhaps the best way to get that gingerbread taste in a moist and fluffy muffin. You’ve done it again, missy!
Yum! I need these in my life!
These sound amazing – and I think I just figured out why I never really liked gingerbread cookies. I think I’m soft and chewy cookie person, definitely not crunchy. My favorite Christmas cookies are pepparkakor cookies ; they are a Swedish cookie (I believe), and my mom had made them for as long as I can remember!
These look amazing as usual and I love all the ingedients! I’ve been a picky eater my entire life. Even now. It’s funny because although I like going out to eat I find myself rearranging the ingredients or asking for substitutions for things I don’t love. That’s probably why I love cooking so much.
I was so not allowed to be a picky eater as a kiddo. My parents allowed my sister and I each one food that we didn’t have to eat (mine was broccoli, hers was lima beans) – Other than that, we had to at least try everything. And we couldn’t have seconds of anything until we finished our veggies. My parents were so meannnnnnnnn 😉
Aww! I’m pretty sure mine tried to be, but I think I out-stubborned them. I laugh about it now, and they keep telling me “Just wait until you have your own kids…” 😯
I am not a crunchy cookie kind of girl either so these muffins sound like the perfect stand-in to me! I’m pretty sure I would eat all of them in no more than two days.
p.s. You are officially the queen of muffins! 😉
These look like the vitamuffins I used to buy. Now I can make some at home!
I’m just going to bow down now and declare that you are the QUEEN of healthy muffins! I swear girly, these look amazing and I want to stuff ten in my mouth riggghhhtttt now. I’ve never been too big of gingerbread fan either due to the same reason. Why bite into a stale-ish cookie when you can have one of these 😉 ?
I STILL have yet to make a gingerbread recipe of any kind. And now I only have 22 days gah!! I know what you mean about gingerbread cookies – they’re often too hard and crunchy to be enjoyed the way cookies should be. But chocolate + gingerbread is intriguing. Chocolate and anything is always good though haha.
3 more weeks ’till Christmas!!! Oh.em.GEE!
I actually love gingerbread, but a agree that cookies shouldn’t be hard and crunchy. I have best gingerbread recipe that yields soft and chewy cookies. These muffins sound so good – nice and spicy and perfect for winter!
A few years back my friend and I were doing our annual drunk cookie baking and we were working on decorating the gingerbread men. I may or may not have decorated some of them to look like they were naked. Oops.
Gingerbread was never my favorite, but now I like it! I think that molasses is a little jarring to the tastebuds so maybe that’s why kids never lOoOoOve gingerbread but as we get older we do.
These look soooo good! I love any and all desserts that have molasses as a prominent ingredient. Nothing screams holidays & winter like a bold dessert (that’s secretly good for you too)!
I’ve come to really enjoy molasses cookies. I always thought they were gross as a kid. I like crunchy cookies, but I enjoy a soft, chewy one too. Not too picky there!
I don’t think I was that terribly picky, but the things I don’t like are in ALOT of things. I don’t like cheese (I know, weird), mayo or mustard, which eliminates things like pasta salad, potato salad, tuna salad, etc. (don’t get me started on tuna. smells like cat food). So I like alot of foods, but the ones I don’t like are prevalent.
These look tasty! I’ll have to make them soon!
I agree with you 100% about tuna and mayo — the smell alone is enough to make me run the other direction 😆
The smell is horrible! I don’t understand how anyone can eat it without gagging.
I was a super picky eater as a kid but I did like gingerbread cookies, specifically the Pepperidge Farm gingermans. I need to buy another package for this year. What’s funny is that they are crunchy and I usually like my cookeis soft but always loved these!
These look so good and chocolatey. I could totally go for some muffins right now! I’ve never been a picky eater, luckily. I’ll eat just about anything!
Those sound really good! And it looks like all of my kids would enjoy this recipe- we’ll have to try it out. Thanks!
These look really good. I find chocolate chips can make my cardboard baking taste good…so there’s that.
Chocolate Chips make everything better – AMEN!! Absolutely agree.
I loved gingerbread as a kid and still do. I now discovered speculos as well, which I love even more with the slight pepper taste.
Oooo! When you come to the States next year, you -have- to try the Speculoos Cookie Butter from TJ’s then! — http://www.amazon.com/Trader-Joes-Speculoos-Cookie-Butter/dp/B006KK4GUO
Ooh they look awesome! I actually was never a picky eater as a child, quite the opposite as I was always starving and would eat anything at anytime! My oldest daughter is the same as I was but my younger two are really picky. Surprisingly though even picky eaters become more flexible when options are limited! They absolutely love all the grain free baked goods I’ve made and I’m sure they would really love these 😉
Want want want! I may make these soon if I find the time to do so. I don’t remember being that fond of gingerbread as a kid either, but I love it now.
Gingerbread was never one of my favs as a kid, but now that I’m older and my tastebuds have matured (lol what) I’ve come to appreciate it.
And I know you’re with me on the chocolate gingerbread combo 😉
These look amazing! I have been obsessed with all things gingerbread lately. Except for cookies… I’m not a fan of crunchy either.
These look amazing, Amanda! I can’t wait to make these. Saved the recipe for later. 🙂
Thanks, Lauren! Hope you like them 🙂
These look amazing! I love the flavor of ginger, and I use most of those ingredients all the time so I have them on hand. May need to give these a try this weekend!