We love this dish as it combines two of our favorite things. Namely, hot dogs – sausages (the pig), and pastry (the blanket). Pigs in blankets are great finger food for parties, although we have been known to sneak the odd one (or two) into our lunchbox to enjoy at work. Today, we will show you how to make them quickly and easily and give you some great tips to make sure you get a perfect result.
How to Make Pigs in Blankets
If you’ve read any of our other recipes, you’ll know that the easier a recipe is, the better. As ease and preparation go, this is super simple.
We don’t tend to make our own puff pastry. While it is delicious, it is a little bit fiddly as you have to chill the butter and keep it cold. We find it adds too much time and the results of this recipe are just as good.
We start by preheating our oven. This is to get it nice and hot to ensure a nice, golden brown and fluffy pastry ‘blanket’.
While we wait for the oven to heat, we get on with the rest of our prep. Some people say you don’t need to cook the hot dogs before assembling your pigs in blankets. The reason being that they will cook in the oven…
We prefer to give them a quick ping in the microwave. This ensures that they are cooked through, and we aren’t left stuck between having perfectly cooked pastry and cold sausage or a perfectly cooked sausage and burnt pastry.
We don’t just wrap these little piggies up in their blankets. Oh no, we give them some love first.
How?
Well, we like to cut a small ‘pocket’ down the middle of each hot dog and fill it with a thin strip of cheese. As it bakes, the cheese melts, and you get a nice oozy style filling.
Once the hot dogs are stuffed with cheese, it’s time to tuck them into their blanket. This is really easy to do. We just cut the dough into triangles and roll up our piggies, starting at the longest edge.
From there, it is just a case of baking your pigs in blankets in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the pastry puffs up and is golden and crispy.
Pigs in Blankets Puff Pastry
Course: AppetizersCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy8
servings15
minutes20
minutes104
kcalThese pigs in blankets with cheese are the perfect appetizer or party side dish. The cheese is the ultimate ingredient to unlock the full potential of this dish.
Ingredients
8 hotdogs (1 per serving)
3-5 thin slices of cheddar cheese
1 can 1 pre-made puff pastry (we like to use Pillsbury Crescent Dinner Rolls)
1 Beaten egg
Directions
- Set your oven to 360°F and allow it to heat while you prepare the pigs in blankets.
- Place your hotdogs in a microwave proof dish and cook in a microwave for around 1-2 minutes.
- remove the hotdogs from the microwave. Once cooled, cut a small slit along each hot dog’s length and place a strip of cheese inside.
- Spread your dough sheet out and separate it into triangles. Place each hot dog along the long edge of an individual triangle and roll it towards one of the points. Repeat for all 8 hot dogs.
- Brush each blanket with the beaten egg
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until the pastry has puffed up and is golden brown.
- Serve with a pot of ketchup. We’ll fight you for the last one!
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Tips and Tricks
- We find that these pigs in blankets are best served with a sauce dip or two. Seeing as they are hot dogs, we think it’s only right that they are served with ketchup and mustard, but we have been known to add a dab of hot sauce on occasion.
- Speaking of spice, while our recipe calls for a cheddar cheese filling, there are other alternatives. We find a few slices of spicy Mexicana creates a really great tasting (and slightly fiery) ‘pig’. Another option could be a small spoon of cream cheese.
- If you haven’t got hot dog sausages, don’t worry. This recipe will work equally well with other types too. ‘Real’ sausages take a little longer to cook, so it might be worth pre-cooking them in the oven and allowing them to cool before wrapping them. We’ve tried this with chorizo, link sausages, and even Polish kielbasa, all of them came out pretty perfect.
- If you are looking to go carb-free, this recipe is still possible. Some would even argue this alternative is nicer. Instead of wrapping your pigs in pastry blankets, give them a wrap in thin rashers of bacon instead.
- If you want to make sure that your ‘blankets’ come out of the oven with the correct color. Here is a great tip. Before baking, give them a brush with melted butter, milk, or a beaten egg mixture. This will ensure that the pastry gets a lovely brown color.
- While we doubt that these will last long enough to cool, they can be eaten cold. Once you’ve baked them, allow them to cool on a wire rack and then wrap them in an air tight container. They should keep fresh for around 3 days.
- The pigs in blankets can also be frozen. Follow the instructions above and then wrap them individually to freeze. When you want one, just bake at 300°F for around 35 minutes straight out of the freezer.
Conclusion
As tasty recipes go, they don’t come much simpler than this. Pigs in blankets are great at any time of the year and are good for most occasions. We love to serve them as buffet-style finger food at parties… The only downside is by the time we’ve got a chance to grab one, they’ve already gone! If you can’t get Pillsbury crescent rolls, any store-bought puff pastry will do. Just cut it into triangles yourself. With cheese or without? What’s your favorite hot dog recipe? Let us know in the comments. We love hearing from you.
