Bake Cinnamon Bread Houses Instead of Gingerbread

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Bake Cinnamon Bread Houses Instead of GingerbreadBake Cinnamon Bread Houses Instead of Gingerbread

DealsFromMsDo    

Ever come across a recipe and you wish that it called for different ingredients than it did?  Ever wondered how the recipe would turn out if you subbed an ingredient or two?  Well, I am brave enough to do more than just wonder.  So, I ended up baking a Cinnamon Bread House instead of a Gingerbread House.  My house swelled wonderfully while it was baking, too!

I recently had the opportunity to build a gingerbread house.  I had most of the ingredients and decided to sub the others.  I had no ginger, it’s something I just don’t use, so I skipped it and doubled up on the cinnamon.  The recipe also called for molasses.  Considering I’ve never had a need for molasses, I had no desire to run out and buy any either.  Instead, I used dark Karo syrup and added extra brown sugar to make it thicker like molasses.  The recipe called for 1/3 cup of molasses, so I used 1/3 cup of the Karo and brown sugar.

The recipe also called for unsalted butter, I only buy salted and used what I had there.  Too bad I didn’t think about deleting the salt called for in the recipe.  The cookies I made were really good, just a tad salty.

Frankenstein CookiesCinnamon Bread Frankenstein Cookies

Because my cinnamon was old, I decided to triple the amount in the recipe.  Again, this didn’t create a problem, it gave the cookies I made with the left over dough the perfect flavor.  Besides, I knew it would contribute to the brown color that was missing since I didn’t use the molasses.

Overall, my subs worked out really well.  The house and cookies were easy to work with, had a good consistency, held up well, and tasted great.  Would I make these same substitutions again to make cinnamon bread instead of gingerbread?  In a heart beat!

DealsFromMsDo    

Make Cinnamon Bread Houses Instead of Gingerbread
Ingredients
  • ⅓ cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter at room temp
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon salt (skip if salted butter is used)
  • 2 cups flour, plus more as needed
My Substitutions:
  • ⅓ c Dark Karo Syrup + an additional ⅓ c brown sugar (instead of ⅓ cup molasses)
  • 2 medium egg yolks, beaten (instead of 1 large egg yolk, beaten)
  • 2 teaspoon cinnamon (instead of 2)
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger (I didn't use it)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 325*F.
  2. Place brown sugar, molasses, and cinnamon in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and add the baking soda. It may foam and "pouff" up.
  3. Add butter a tablespoon or two at a time, stirring well after each addition until the butter is incorporated.
  4. Add the egg, vanilla, and salt and stir to combine.
  5. Add the flour, 1 cup at a time, stirring well to incorporate the flour after each addition.
  6. Flour your work surface (I used wax paper) and turn out the dough. Knead the dough, adding flour, if needed, until the dough is no longer sticky. It should still be soft - it will firm up a lot as it cools.
  7. The original recipe suggested allowing the dough to chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours. I skipped this step. It only needs to be firm enough to roll the dough evenly, cut it, and move the pieces without losing their shapes.
  8. Turn dough ball onto waxed paper and lightly flour to roll.
  9. The directions recommended rolling the dough out to ⅛" thick. It is extremely easy to roll it thicker in some spots than it is in others. Use wooden boards (bought at Lowe's) of the same height to make sure dough is rolled to the correct height. Wipe down with a soapy sponge when finished and store for the next use.
  10. The dough needs to be turned each direction so that it is stretched evenly when rolling. The directions recommended rolling out on a silicone baking mat. I don't have one, so I used wax paper instead.
  11. After rolling out the dough, use the Haunted House Cutter Set to cut house pieces from the dough. Used wax paper to roll the dough out, to later transfer entire cut out directly to baking sheet.
  12. After cutting out the front and back of the house, the excess dough was lifted away, and thrown back into the bowl. The excess dough was rolled back into the dough ball for additional cuts.
  13. Use scissors to cut the wax paper apart before putting pieces on the baking sheet to allow them plenty of room to expand when cooking.
  14. Bake the cookie pieces at 325 degrees until the cookies are barely lightly browned on the edges for about 12 to 18 minutes.
  15. Move the pieces to a cooling racks to cool completely before removing wax paper, assembling, and decorating.
Notes
Recipe Adapted From the GingerBoo Haunted House Recipe on the 7 Piece Haunted House Cutter Set from Good Cook: http://www.goodcook.com/decorating/seasonal-themes/halloween/haunted-house-cookie-cutter-set-p-1053.html

DealsFromMsDo    

Comments

  1. Betty Canterbury says

    I have never substituted anything before when cooking just stuck to the recipe

  2. I have substituted almond butter for peanut butter cause my step mom is allergic to peanut butter.

  3. I’ve subbed apple sauce and bananas at times for oil. You can sub vinegar and milk for buttermilk and milk and butter for cream when baking or making sauces. Anyway… I think cinnamon is a good idea I’m not a fan of ginger… I wonder if the Karo syrup held the dough together as well as the molasses would have…?

  4. Yani Animuss says

    I have substituted apple sauce for eggs in a cake mix. It seemed fine to me.

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