Pigs in a Blanket from Scratch

Picture a few pink tiny piglets wrapped in a blanket. How will it look? Well, it would surely look cute. However, this term is also used for making an allusion to a sausage based recipe, which appears to be somewhat similar to the former. Known by different names like devils on horseback, wiener wink and kilted sausage, pigs in a blanket is a very popular sausage based recipe in American foods. It is also common in UK, Australia, Canada and a few more countries. But in case you are mistaking them for sausage rolls, do not, as they are different from sausage rolls. This recipe can be carried out from scratch - you prepare the crescent dough and rolls too. Want to know how, check out the following text.

Pigs in a Blanket Recipe

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, half teaspoon baking soda, half teaspoon salt, 4 tablespoons unsalted cold butter cut into small pieces, half cup grated cheddar cheese (for with cheese recipe), ¾ cup buttermilk and 18 miniature hotdogs.

Method

• Adjust the oven to 400 degree F and then take a large baking sheet and grease it.
• Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a bowl and then rub the butter in this mixture till it becomes crumbly.
• Stir the cheese in the dough and make sure it is evenly distributed.
• Now, in the dough, create a crater and add the buttermilk. Using a wooden spoon, stir well and let it stay for around 3 minutes.
• Sprinkle the dough using flour and stir for couple of times at the most. Then, turn this dough on clean counter dusted with flour.
• Now, pat the dough in a rectangle measuring 15 inches by 7 inches with a bit of flour on your hands. In case you are not able to get a proper rectangle, you might have to trim the sides.
• Take a pizza cutter and slice the rectangle into one thirds, horizontally and then those pieces in one thirds vertically. There you have 9 rectangles and your crescent rolls are almost done.
• Once you have these dough rectangles, slice each rectangle diagonally to get 2 thin triangles. Then roll the sausages in these triangles and place the side with a point down on the greased sheet.
• Finally, bake for around 13 to 15 minutes till the color changes to golden brown.
• Transfer the goodies on a wire rack after they cool down for a few minutes on the greased sheet itself.

You can use a special bisquick, a pre-mixed baking product having flour, shortening salt and baking powder if you do not want any hassle of mixing all those ingredients. You can just add buttermilk to this bisquick and your dough is ready for a perfect recipe.

A variation of pigs in blankets is if you use smokies then the crescent dough strips have to be 1½ by 1½ inches in size. On the other hand if you have hotdogs, cut the strips in the size 2½ by 5 inches.

That's it! This was an easy recipe, wasn't it? Well, I am sure now you are going to make them often, serve them hot and enjoy them with your favorite company! Bon Appetit!