Mummy dogs were big this time last year – wrapping up hot dogs in Pillsbury Crescent Roll strips to look like the spooky creature. It is a simple, quick and novel way to add character to pigs in a blanket. You can find the recipe here on Pillsbury.com When people eat them in this house, they are always picked apart, some people eating just the dog and some people eating just the wrapping.
But since early this summer, pretzel dogs have been a big thing in my house. My husband will stop what he’s doing for them and the kids eat every piece of them. Pretzels from scratch seem like it would take a lot of time and effort, but it’s just a few minutes of prep here and there and then you are off doing something else for a bit. You will impress yourself with the results (I actually made the things in these pictures). Leftovers have been enjoyed cold in lunch boxes.
I’ve tried a bunch of soft pretzel recipes. Alton Brown’s recipe is one of the more popular soft pretzel recipes on the internet, but my kids and I don’t like these if they aren’t still warm (they ARE good warm and we love them as a side dish or snack!), and if you over cook them or reheat them too much, they really aren’t as great as other recipes. However, bunsinmyoven.com, has adapted that recipe for pretzel dogs and it is easy and turns out nicely. I recommend the recipe (I use an egg wash at the end, the recipe has a little butter/egg wash error). The dough seems like it’s too tough and thick after kneading, but turns out okay after rising. I’ve tried substituting part of the flour with whole wheat flours, and it’s fine. Obviously you can use whatever sort of dog, frank, sausage, or kielbasa you are into (beef, turkey, chicken, veggie).
You’ll need a bunch of baking soda when boiling pretzels, so check the pantry to make sure you have enough first!
Also for salt, some recipes call for “pretzel salt,” but you can usually find some sort of coarse salt at the grocery that works fine. For a lower sodium version, you can add substitute with toasted sesame seeds.
http://www.bunsinmyoven.com/2013/08/11/pretzel-dogs/
