Halloween is a spooky time of year when all things are geared towards the ghoulish and macabre. But sometimes ghoulish and macabre can be adorable too. That was the intention behind the Halloween creation that unfolded in my kitchen – “Mummy Dogs”, the pigs-in-a-blanket with a Halloween twist.
They’re actually quite easy to make, as long as you have the patience to wrap each hot dog with gooey strips of crescent roll dough. And while time consuming, this is a perfect chance to let your kids in the kitchen and have them help make dinner.
Ingredients needed: 10 hot dogs, 1-2 cans of Pillsbury Crescent roll dough, cheese, and mustard.
The first thing I did was prep the crescent roll dough. Each package of crescent rolls contains 8 triangles, connected by twos. I sealed each perforation so that the dough was instead 4 rectangles. And then I cut each rectangle into 10 long strips.
The cheese is best done with American cheese, but we had only had plain old Monterey Jack (which I prefer, anyway). I cut 20 small rectangles of cheese, creating two cheese pieces for each “Mummy”.
Placing two pieces of cheese at the lower 2/3 of the hot dog, I wrapped 4 strips of dough around the cheese and the dog. I created an open space near the top, moving the dough aside to show the face.
As you can see, some of these mummies ended up a little naked….
I realized partway through the process that 4 strips of dough didn’t really seem like enough. This is why I recommend using more like 2 cans of dough, covering each dog with 6-8 strips. After all, there is no such thing as too much doughy goodness.
However, once baked, they filled out a little more, especially the one that I dressed with more strips than the average Mummy.
Dot some mustard for eyes, and voila! Mummy Dogs!
Recipe and instructions, found at www.pillsbury.com:
Mummy Dogs
Prep Time: 30 Min
Total Time: 50 Min
Makes: 10
INGREDIENTS:
– 1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls or 1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® Crescent Recipe Creations® refrigerated seamless dough sheet
– 2 1/2 slices American cheese, quartered (2.5 oz)
– 10 large hot dogs
– Cooking spray
– Mustard or ketchup, if desired
DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat oven to 375°F.
2. If using crescent rolls: Unroll dough; separate at perforations, creating 4 rectangles. Press perforations to seal. If using dough sheet: Unroll dough; cut into 4 rectangles.
3. With knife or kitchen scissors, cut each rectangle lengthwise into 10 pieces, making a total of 40 pieces of dough. Slice cheese slices into 4. quarters (1/2 slice cheese, cut in half).
5. Wrap 4 pieces of dough around each hot dog and 1/4 slice of cheese to look like “bandages,” stretching dough slightly to completely cover hot dog. About 1/2 inch from one end of each hot dog, separate “bandages” so hot dog shows through for “face.” On ungreased large cookie sheet, place wrapped hot dogs (cheese side down); spray dough lightly with cooking spray.
6. Bake 13 to 17 minutes or until dough is light golden brown and hot dogs are hot. With mustard, draw features on “face.”
Nutrition Information:
1 Serving (1 Sandwich)Calories 330(Calories from Fat 240),Total Fat 27g(Saturated Fat 11g,Trans Fat 1 1/2g),Cholesterol 50mg;Sodium 1110mg;Total Carbohydrate 11g(Dietary Fiber 0g,Sugars 4g),Protein 11g;Percent Daily Value*:Vitamin A 4%;Vitamin C 0%;Calcium 10%;Iron 6%;Exchanges:1/2 Starch;0 Fruit;0 Other Carbohydrate;0 Skim Milk;0 Low-Fat Milk;0 Milk;0 Vegetable;0 Very Lean Meat;0 Lean Meat;1 1/2 High-Fat Meat;3 Fat;Carbohydrate Choices:1;*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
