49/52 Gingerbread Muffins with Chocolate Glaze

Let's start the Christmas baking extravaganza with something other than cookies.

Mini muffins, for example. Almost the same, just less crispy.

I made these mini muffins for a Christmas get-together from work and everybody seemed to like them.

Gingerbread Muffins with Chocolate Glaze

Adapted from Martha Stewart (muffins and glaze)

Makes 12 regular or 36 mini muffins

Muffins: 

2 teaspoons baking soda

340 g (2 1/2 cups) flour

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

114 g (1 stick) butter, room temperature

150 g (2/3 cup) brown sugar

250 ml (1 cup) molasses

2 eggs, room temperature

Glaze:

80 g dark chocolate

125 ml (1/2 cup) heavy cream

• Preheat oven to 170°C (350°F). Line muffin tin with paper cups. 
• Bring 250 ml (1 cup) water to the boil, add baking soda, set aside.
• Combine flour, spices, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl and set aside.
• Cream the butter until light. Add the brown sugar and beat for 1 to 2 minutes until fluffy. Beat in the molasses, baking-soda mixture, and flour mixture. Beat in the eggs.
• Fill muffin paper cups 3/4 full, then bake for 20-25 minutes (regular muffins) or 10-12 minutes (mini muffins). Let cool completely before decorating.

•  For the glaze, break the chocolate into smaller pieces. Heat up the cream, and pour it over the chocolate. Let stand for 5 minutes, then stir until smooth. Let the glaze stand for another 10 minutes.
• Dip the muffins into the glaze, let them drip for a couple of seconds, then turn right-side up. It does take a couple of hours for the glaze to completely set, so please plan ahead to avoid disappointment.

My modifications:

I added 2 additional teaspoons of gingerbread spice (the spice mixture used for German gingerbreads). To me, it just didn't taste gingerbready enough before.

I also added 1 teaspoon of gingerbread spice to the glaze.

The taste:

Good. But I somehow expected more. But they were good. But nothing more.

What would you bring to a Christmas get-together from work?