baked mini corn dogs

Last night I posed a question to my husband: would he like a stir fry or corn dogs for dinner? Obviously not a very fair question. Sorry, stir fry, your time will come. After my husband closed his gaping maw, I got down to work. After a bit of Google-ing, I spotted this near-perfect recipe. I made it more perfect by adding in some chili-powder for flavour and a kick of spicy cayenne for bite. These would be a perfect addition to your Canada Day or July 4th holiday party.

The end result isn't the cylindrical n' greasy meat-pop of your carnival dreams, but it does satisfy any food-on-stick craving you might be hankering for. These corn dogs are flat at the bottom, but they are crispy and the flavour is just right. I wasn't sure about adding all that sugar, but it actually helped them taste more authentic. I liked the sweetness but feel free to cut it down or leave it out completely.

I had some lollypop sticks leftover from some fall-time caramel apple making and they worked perfectly for this meal. Please note that this recipe makes a lot of batter! So feel free to increase the hot dog amount to 8 if you are feeding a crowd or do like we did and use the batter the next morning to make a really great corn bread. Just fry up a small amount of bacon - or just heat up some vegetable oil or bacon grease in a cast iron pan. When hot, pour in the batter and place in a pre-heated 375F degree oven for 15-20 minutes. Slice into quarters and eat hot.

baked mini corn dogs
1 c cornmeal
1 c flour
2 T brown sugar
1 T chili powder
1/2 t cayenne pepper
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 1/4 c milk (feel free to use almond/soy/rice milk)
1 egg
1 T canola oil
4-8 hot dogs, cut in half (use tofu or veggie dogs, if you like)
8-16 lollypop sticks

Preheat oven to 400F. In a large bowl, combine the first 6 ingredients. In a smaller bowl, mix together the milk, egg and canola oil. Pour the wet into the dry and mix gently with a fork.

Cut your hot dogs in half (mini-dogs not skinny-dogs) and pierce each half with a stick. Dredge each half into the cornmeal batter and place onto a silpat-covered cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes or until the batter becomes golden brown.

don't be a hater: bannock-wrapped hot dogs

I like hot dogs. Judge me if you will. The other day we needed a quick lunch and we had some hot dogs but no buns, so I decided to improvise. Last year I had made bannock (which is a traditional native quick bread) and went with a modified version that would work to wrap the hot dogs like the old school Pillsbury dough wraps of my youth. I had my doubts, but it worked wonderfully! It would be a great recipe to make with kids, as it's simple and they can get their hands dirty.

The dough was light and flaky like a biscuit and I had hidden in some cheese inside so we were greeted with melty cheesy goodness nestled around the hot dog. Mmmmm! I divided the dough into 4 but I think it could be streched a bit to cover 5 or even 6 if you pat the dough thin, as the dough did puff up during baking and eating just one was enough for a meal. It definitely made for a filling, super delicious and unusual lunch.

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bannock-wrapped hot dogs
3 c flour
1 1/2 T baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/4 c butter or vegan margarine
1 1/4 c water, milk or soy milk
slices of cheese (optional)
4 hot dogs (vegan or meaty)

Preheat oven to 375. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt together, whisking well so it's all blended. Add the butter and crumble it together with your hands until it resembles tiny peas or crumbs. Make a well in the centre of the mixture and pour in the milk or water and use a fork or a wooden spoon to blend it gently until it forms into a lump of dough.

Meanwhile, boil up the hotdogs and when they're hot, remove from water and set aside. Divide the dough into four lumps and shape into a hotdog sized shape. Flatten the dough until it's large enough to roll up a hot dog, place a slice of cheese on the dough and then roll up the hotdog in the dough. Pinch the ends so the hot dog is encased and place on a cookie sheet. Repeat for all the following hot dogs and bake in the oven for 10 minutes, flip the dogs and bake for another 5-10 minutes until slightly golden. Serve with your favorite condiments.