Corn Dog Muffins

I have a friend who eats like he’s a little kid. When I saw this recipe (sent to me by my grandma), I figured these would be something he would love (and eat about 10 of in one sitting).

Here is where I diverged from the recipe:

First off, I don’t have mini-muffin pans. So I had to make regular sized muffins. I doubled the recipe thinking the recipe as is wouldn’t make a lot. I was wrong. After churning out 24 regular sized muffins, I still had a ton of batter leftover (and my thoughts drifted to pancakes or waffles made with the remaining batter). I added additional flour because the batter was very runny and I used 8 Nathan’s hotdogs, sliced – not diced. I think I added more cheese than the recipe called for as well. Possibly double? Because my thought is … there’s no such thing as too much cheese.

I baked them for 15 minutes and a toothpick inserted in the middle came out mostly clean. I suppose they could have gone in a little bit longer. But I don’t like to overbake things.

So here are my thoughts: there needed to be more hotdog, less muffin, in these muffins. I wanted them to be more corn-doggy. A corn dog has more hot dog than it does the outer corn layer. Also, I really wished I had some ketchup to go with these. But I’m not a huge fan of ketchup – only eat it with chicken nuggets, fish sticks and corn dogs (none of which I eat regularly) – so I don’t really keep ketchup on hand.

Also, not sure my friend would like these muffins. Though he eats like he’s a kid, these seem too adventuresome for most kids. And probably too adventuresome for him as well. I guess I’ll be eating my way through two-dozen muffins over the next few weeks!

4.27.13 – update!

Last night I used the rest of the batter to make 12 additional regular sized muffins. I cut up 7 Hebrew National (regular-sized) and split up the diced pieces amongst the 12 muffins. I baked the muffins for about 17 or 18 minutes until they were starting to brown. The result? An actual corn dog tasting muffin! Way better with a large amount of hot dog in the muffin. Also, I broke down and bought some ketchup at the store. The ketchup definitely completes the taste of the corn dog to me and it completed the taste of this muffin as well. I would make and eat these all the time!

ingredients.

1 c. cornmeal
½ c. flour
2 T. packed light brown sugar
1 T. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. baking soda
1 c. buttermilk
½ c. milk
2 T. butter, melted
1 large egg
1 c. shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese
5 hot dogs, diced
optional: ketchup, mustard, sour cream and/or honey mustard, for dipping

directions.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 24-cup mini muffin pan generously with shortening or non-stick spray.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda.
In a large bowl, combine the buttermilk, milk, butter and egg. Stir in dry ingredients and cheese until just combined. Spoon a generous tablespoon of batter into each muffin tin. Add a few pieces of hot dog to each muffin cup.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden brown. Let muffins cool for 10 to 15 minutes in the pan before removing. Serve warm with desired sauces for dipping.

Recipe rating:  1/2