Holiday cupcakes
I made Gingerbread cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and mint Oreo cupcakes. The original plan for the Oreo cupcakes was to make this recipe (hubby’s favorite) except to use the Trader Joe’s candy cane Joe Joe’s. The day of the party, the weather was nasty and I didn’t want to walk all the way to Trader Joes. So instead, I made the recipe (linked above) and added 2 tsp of peppermint extract to both the batter and the frosting.
Gingerbread Cupcakes (from Crazy about Cupcakes)
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
2/3 cup light molasses
2 tsp lemon zest
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour – I use King Arthurs White Whole Wheat Flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 cup sour cream
Preheat over to 375F. Insert liners into a medium cupcake pan.
In a large bowl cream the butter and sugars together with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Add the egg, molasses, and lemon zest to the creamed mixture. Beat well.
In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves.
Add portions of the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture alternating with portions of the sour cream, until they are completely integrated, about 30 seconds.
Fill the cupcake liners one-half to three-quarters full. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of cupcakes comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in the pan.
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
Oh my goodness, those look AMAZING!
Wow, that’s a lot of brownies. They do look heavenly! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Happy Thanksgiving!
~ingrid
Wow, these look amazing!
These are amazing! And they’re very chocolatey. Definitely need a glass of milk with them 🙂
Whoa! Those look insanely decadent and delicious!
Hi Jan. These Orio Crunch Brownies look delicious and I would like to try an make them. Being in Australia the recipe needs some clarification for me. How much butter is in a stick? We get butter in 1kg and 500 gm packs… Thanks so much. Just found your blog today and oh! oh!, everything looks so nice. I would like to leave my email address for you: jong2505@hotmail.com
Thanks ever so much…
Glenice
These look so great! Can I eliminate the instant coffee or is it essential to the taste? I am making these for my 3-year-old niece’s birthday party, and she LOVES chocolate, but I don’t think she should have something with coffee in it. What are your thoughts?
Sarah – The coffe in the brownies is there to enhance the flavor of the chocolate. It is not necessary, you could definitely take it out without any issues. I hope you enjoy the brownies!
Sorry to be a pest with questions, but what kind of pan is the size you mentioned? I did a search online and I got two results – a jelly roll pan and also a much deeper roasting pan. The brownies in your photos look thick but I’m not sure if I need to pick up a new pan. Thanks for all of your help!!! 🙂
Sarah – Sorry for not getting back to you sooner. The pan I used is 11x17x1. So it’s not very deep. I always call it a jelly roll pan. Hope that helps!