I am a huge fan of both hot dogs and homemade pretzels. Although I have never ordered a pretzel dog from Auntie Anne’s, they have always intrigued me. A football classic around this house is hot dogs cut into fourths and wrapped in crescent rolls, i.e. pigs in a blanket. When I saw recipes for pretzels dogs on a few blogs, I knew trying out mini pretzel dogs was in order.
These mini pretzel dogs are made with Nathan’s Skinless Beef Franks wrapped in a perfect homemade pretzel. I prefer Nathan’s hot dogs because they taste great. Plus, they are from New York so it always makes me happy to see them over here in California. I added some cheese to the insides of half the pretzel dogs to test it out. The results were amazing! To do this, I made a lengthwise slit in the hot dog and folded some pieces of of deli American cheese in there.
I had got the idea to add cheese from a dinner that we made on occasion growing up (and one that I still dream about!) My mom made us homemade meals practically every night so she absolutely hates when we rave about the “Crescent Roll hot dog” dinners we used to have. Her eyes are probably rolling right now as she reads this. A Crescent Roll Hot Dog is when you take a full hot dog, make a lengthwise slit in the middle, stuff a folded half piece of American cheese, roll it in crescent roll dough and bake it together. It’s very similar to how I make pigs in a blankets nowadays, except with a whole hot dog and the addition of cheese. What can I say- it was the 80’s and early 90’s!
These pretzel dogs were so good! I served them warm with deli mustard to dip. Although these are best fresh from the oven, I froze the other half of them for Superbowl Sunday and I am going to reheat them at 350 degrees F for 10-12 minutes until they are heated up again.
- 1½ cups warm water (110-115 degrees F)
- 1 tbsp. granulated sugar
- 2¼ tsp. active dry yeast (or one packet)
- 22 oz. AP flour (about 4½ cups)
- 2 tsp. salt
- 2 tbsp. butter, melted and brought back to room temperature
- 14 cups of water
- 1 cup baking soda
- 8 pack of hot dogs, cut into fourths for 32 hot dog pieces
- 1 large egg beaten with 1 tsp. water
- Pretzel salt or course salt
- 4 slices of American Cheese (optional)
- In the bowl of your mixer (with dough hook attachment) add warm water and sugar. Sprinkle the yeast on top of the the water and let sit for 5 minutes.
- Once the yeast is foamy, add in the flour,salt, and melted butter. Mix on low until the dough is combined. Take the speed up to around medium and mix the dough until it is smooth and easily pulls away from the sides of the mixer bowl. Knead for an additional 4 minutes at medium speed.
- Coat a separate large bowl with some canola oil. Take dough ball from mixer bowl, scraping dough off the sides of the bowl if needed and place in oiled bowl. Turn to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set bowl in a warm draft free place for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. If using parchment paper spray with cooking spray to prevent sticking.
- Once the dough has risen, turn out on a lightly oiled surface. Divide dough evenly into 32 pieces. This is done easily if you divide dough in half and then divide each half into halves, continuing until there is 32 equal sized pieces.
- Take one dough ball and roll out 12-18 inch piece rope. Take hot dog piece and starting at the end of the hot dog, wrap the dough around the hot dog so that it is completely covered in dough (like a cocoon or mummy). Make sure to seal ends and where ever the dough is touching so that it stays connected and completely sealed during baking. Unlike Pigs in a Blanket you are covering the entire hot dog with dough. Repeat for all dough and hot dog pieces.
- *to add cheese- take hot dog pieces before wrapping and make a slit lengthwise making sure to not cut through the hot dog all they way. Take a piece of American cheese and divide it up into 8 pieces. Take one of the pieces and gently fold it so it is around the same size as the slit made in the hot dog. Stuff the cheese into the slit and then wrap hot dog piece with dough like above directions.
- In a large pot add 14 cups of water and 1 cup of baking soda. Bring to a boil.
- Once the water comes to a boil, gently drop a few wrapped hot dogs into the pot and let cook for 30 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and line up on baking sheet, leaving about one inch in between each. Repeat for all wrapped hot dogs.
- Take the egg beaten with 1 tsp. of water and gently brush boiled pretzels with the egg mixture. Top with course salt.
- Bake each cookie sheet separately for about 12-14 minutes until golden brown. Let cool for a few minutes before serving.
Source- slightly adapted from Joy The Baker
