secret recipe club: gingerbread muffins

my husband and i did not take what i would call a 'traditional' honeymoon. we spent a week in prague, where it snowed each and every day in october, and spent a second week roaming around germany and austria. while we were too early for all the christmas and holiday festivals and markets, the market in nuremburg germany was full of lebkuchen. not too sweet, perfectly spicy, some dipped in chocolate, some decorated with whole almonds, we feasted on lebkuchen for days. while germany's gingerbread is distinctly different from what i consider traditional american gingerbread - ours rolled thin, cut with cookie cutters, and decorated and their drop cookies, chewy and soft - i couldn't get enough. while i was always a sucker for good spicy gingerbread before, that trip - and those cookies - sealed the deal for me. now every time i so much as get a whiff of gingerbread, i'm transplanted back to that market, sitting on the edge of a statue, sharing a cookie and hot chocolate with jason. it's funny what food does to our memories.

so this month, when selecting my secret recipe club recipe, i had a cold, hard stop when i came upon camilla's recipe for gingerbread muffins at culinary adventures with camilla.

while camilla made her gingerbread muffins days after thanksgiving, in the heat of the holidays, i made mine to kick off fall, when thoughts of thanksgiving first begin to hang in the air. i didn't change her recipe much. i added the baking powder she suggested, since i like my muffins light and fluffy over dense and pudding-like. i also added a thin, simple glaze. i should have realized how unsweet these muffins would be - not that i'm complaining about the flavor. those of you who like things on the less sweet side will love these muffins. but for me, i needed a bit more sweetness. and instead of adding it to the batter, i simply covered the baked muffins in sugar. these are definitely in my fall rotation.

for more information on the secret recipe club, including the list of participating bloggers, featured recipes from members, and instructions on how to join, visit the all new secret recipe club website!

check out my previous src posts below
double chocolate peanut butter chip oatmeal cookies
butterscotch peach cakewhole wheat honey pancakes minted pineapple lime agua frescabreakfast tacos
simple almond sandwich cookies
roasted banana rum cake

gingerbread muffins
adapted from culinary adventures with camilla
45 minutes, makes 18 regular sized muffins 

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 egg
1 cup unsulfured molasses
1 cup hot water
1 cup all purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1. preheat your oven to 375F. line 18 standard muffin cups with cupcake papers.
2. cream the butter and sugar. add the salt and spices and mix well.
3. add the egg, molasses, and water and mix until blended. the dough will be very runny.
4. add the all purpose flour and mix until blended. add the whole wheat flour and baking powder and mix until blended.
5. fill each muffin cup about three quarters full. bake for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
6. cool in the pan for a couple minutes, remove from the pan, and finish cooling on a wire rack.
7. if you want to glaze your muffins, wait until completely cool. mix powdered sugar and water until it's the right consistency - not too thick, not too thin. dip the tops of the muffins in the glaze or drizzle the glaze over the muffins.