February 1, 2011

Way back in 2006, I created a recipe for Pigs in a Blanket. It used a savory muffin-like batter to coat the wieners. I thought they were delicious. My friend, Jessica, did not. "Pigs in a blanket need to have a blanket! Not be encased in batter and baked." For someone who eats "Pigs in a Blanket" once or twice a year, she clearly had strong feelings about them.

And so did you! My original recipe appeared in the little gluten-free baking newsletter I used to write. (A print newsletter! Can you imagine?) Most people said it was good but not what they really wanted.

Back to the kitchen for me! I set out to create a recipe that used a wrapped around the wieners. After a bit of putzing, I created this recipe. It's an easy recipe to make. It's just...well, it's a little time consuming. You need to wrap an entire package of cocktail wieners in dough. If you have help (kids, wives/husbands, willing neighbors) enlist them! I did the project myself and it took me about 25 minutes to wrap the entire package. Not terrible but...help is nice. Here is a step-by-step guide to making these tasty pigs. Sadly the first two photos are missing. I'd love to blame it on a technology failure but, honestly, I just forgot to snap the pictures. Let's get up to speed. (The full recipe, by the way, is here!)

Step One: Whisk together the dry ingredients in a bowl.

Step Two: Cut in butter with your hands or a pasty cutter until no large pieces remain.

Step Three: Add milk. Mix, using a wooden spoon, until a dough forms. You want the dough to hold together. If it is dry, add a splash more milk.

This brings us to...the first photo. How to tell if your dough is the right consistency! 

The dough should hold together. As you can see, it looks a little crumbly. To see if it is the right texture...

Squeeze it! Grab a little of the dough and squeeze it. If it holds together easy, it is the right consistency. If it's dry and doesn't hold a dough ball, add a splash more milk.

Using your hands, knead the dough into a ball. (I did this right in the bowl.)

Grab a package of gluten-free mini wieners. Open the package and pat them dry.

Pinch off a generous teaspoon of dough. I used a teaspoon but pinching off with your hands is fine too!

Roll dough into a ball.

Flatten the dough, about two inches across.

Place a wiener into the center of the piece of dough.

Wrap the dough around the wiener. If it doesn't wrap around all the way, just "smush" it until it covers the wiener.

Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until lightly golden brown.

Dough jacket remains slightly pale but the bottoms get nice and brown!

Take a bite! These are best eaten in two or three bites. Tiny bites causes the delicate dough to fall off the "pig."

For the recipe, click here!