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Piggies in a blanket? Yes. Pretzel piggies in a blanket?? Yes Yes Yes
I will never get tired of the food my seven-year-old self ate. I could lie and say it’s all about the nostalgic feeling it gives me, takes me back to when I was a kid, or, even better, blame Kevin’s need to relive his bachelor days…but really, I just honestly still like the stuff.
Kraft Mac and Cheese. SpaghettiOs® . Chef Boyardee. Pigs in a blanket. You name it. I like it.
In fact, tonight I don’t feel like cooking, so Kevin and I are going to forgo the fancy dinner and cook up some Hamburger Helper®, then eat it while sitting our butts in front of the TV. Pretty romantic, huh?
Please don’t tell anyone.
Guilty pleasure confessions aside, I don’t want you to get the idea in your head that processed garbage was all I ate growing up, it wasn’t. In fact, it was the opposite, my Mom was (and is) an awesome cook (where do you think I got it from?). She never let my brother and I (or my dad, but he wouldn’t touch any of it anyways) eat any of that stuff for family dinners, only the occasional lunch – maybe that’s why I still love all of it so much, because it was such a treat when I did get the privilege of having the little blue box.
You know what the great thing about kid food is? It transitions perfectly into football food that adults and kiddos will love – making my guilty pleasure not so guilty at all – it’s all for the kids!
While I typically try to class-up football food a bit, these require none of that. They’re perfect they way they are – I mean there’s a reason pigs-in-a-blanket are always the first thing to go at any party. Everybody loves them.
I used the same pretzel dough recipe I used here and here, except instead of making eight jumbo pretzels I cut off tiny portions of dough, rolled it out to a very thin rope, and then wrapped it around hot dogs cut into thirds. You want to make sure each time you roll the dough across the hotdog, the layers are overlapping and go to the end of the hot dog; otherwise it will all unravel while in the boiling water. Some of them I put cheese in, some of them I didn’t, the choice is yours.
The dough recipe yields a TON of pretzel dogs, so beware. I’d use two packages of hot dogs, but you still might have leftover dough. Make it all, because they will go fast.
Side Note. The reason these guys are so pale is because I made so many batches that I ran out of baking soda and eggs when it came time to photograph. Yours will turn out much more golden.
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 1 ½ cups warm water
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 10 cups water
- scant ⅔ cup baking soda
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon water
- 2 packages hot dogs, dogs cut into thirds
- 15 slices American cheese (optional)
- Pretzel salt, poppy seeds, granulated garlic, sesame seeds, granulated onion for sprinkling
- n the bottom of a stand mixer, combine water, sugar and salt. Sprinkle yeast over. Let set for 5 minutes until foamy. Add in flour and melted butter. Using the dough hook, mix the dough until combined on a low speed, Increase the speed to medium and mix for five to seven minutes until dough becomes smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
- Rinse bowl off and then grease with canola oil. Place dough in the bottom and coat with oil. Cover with a towel and place in a warm, draft –free place for one hour.
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Cut off about a round tablespoon of dough. Roll into a thin rope, about 4- 4 ½ inches. Wrap around hot dog, pinch dough together in between each roll and then pinch end into dough to ensure it stays together during the cooking process.
- Bring water to a rolling boil, add in baking soda. Boil dogs, five or six at a time for 45 seconds.
- Place on greased baking sheet or silt pad. Brush with egg wash. Sprinkle with seasonings.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown.
- Serve with mustard.
*Pretzel dough from Alton Brown via Foodnetwork.com
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