What's for Dinner? Mini Corn Dog Muffins!

I discovered this delicious idea when I had some cornmeal I wanted to use up and went looking for recipes.  I've always had a hard time buying corn dogs at the store.  While I love them, the box always seemed so empty for what they charged (and they're not the healthiest choice)! 

I didn't really want to take on the sticks and batter and frying to make my own......but then, I came across this inspiration from Heavenly Homemakers to make them into muffins - yes!  So easy for the kids to eat......and so much cheaper and healthier since you can choose what goes into them. 

If you have a favorite cornbread recipe, feel free to use it - if not, I recommend this recipe for "World's Best Honey Cornbread" from Money Saving Mom - so yummy and super easy to make!  I changed it just a little by using half whole wheat flour and half all-purpose flour.  I think I might try it with less honey or sugar next time because they're plenty sweet, but they're delicious as they are too!

The kids helped me mix up the batter and cut the hot dogs.  We filled the muffin tins 1/2 to 2/3 full (should we call them "muffin silicones"?), then added the hot dogs. We tried some full size muffins with a piece of a hot dog (about a 1/3 - whatever fits in your pan), and also some mini muffins with slices of hot dogs mixed in.  I preferred the slices in whatever size we made since the "bread to dog ratio" was better.  =)

I used Angus hot dogs the first time we made them, and the second time I used Oscar Meyer turkey hot dogs - both were good!

 My husband (who's not a huge corndog fan.....crazy, but true) wanted to spice them up a little and added diced fresh jalapenos to some of the muffins.  We all liked them that way! 

{and yes, that is our 3 year old helping add jalapenos while my husband holds a knife nearby and I take pictures documenting the apparent lack of supervision......}

We baked them at 400 for about 12 minutes for the mini muffin size (15 for the regular?).  Grace and Emma were drooling over the freshly baked corn dog muffins - they could not wait to eat them!

They were a huge hit!  The whole family liked them and the kids have even asked for these for their "birthday treat" at school!




Linking up to:




{Recipe Roundtable}