Corn Dogs

Summer and corn dogs go hand in hand.  Whether at an amusement park, the state fair, the board walk, or from the comfort of your own home, corn dogs are a favorite.  How fun is it to eat off a stick!

You can make your own (with or without sticks), for a fraction of the cost and calories of those puppies fried elsewhere.  Simply swap out half of the flour from your favorite pizza dough recipe and replace it with cornmeal.  Mix it up and you will have an easy to use corn dog dough, that you can roll around all those puppies.  You can skewer them with sticks (that have been pre-soaked) or skip the sticks and just bake them up (or fry them if you prefer).

Here's my favorite pizza dough recipe:

Pizza Dough
1 1/3 cups warm water
1 Tbs yeast
2 Tbs oil
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
4 cups flour (half white flour and half cornmeal if using for corndogs)

• Put all ingredients in your mixing bowl.
• Mix together in a mixer for ten minutes.  It should form into a ball.  
• Lightly spray work surface with non-stick cooking spray.  
• Divide dough into 8-16 pieces.  I opted for no sticks and cut my hotdogs in half, lengthwise (16 pieces).  Cutting hotdogs in half lengthwise (not rounds) reduces the risk of choking and stretched out my single package of hotdogs to feed more people.  If you have small kids, or want to make corny appetizers (ha ha) you can cut them in half again across the middle for mini corn dogs. Side note-(I like making mini versions of what we are eating for the kids-like mini hamburgers and buns, mini quiches, mini bbq biscuits, mini breads or muffins, etc.).  Now back on the ranch. . .come along little doggie. (hee hee) 
• Wrap/stretch dough around hotdog  until it is completely covered.  
• Place on a greased baking sheet.  
• Bake at 400 degrees until dough is cooked and starts to look golden on the edges (about 15 minutes).
• Serve with your favorite dipping medium.  We like ketchup at our house.  :)  ~Lena