I wanted to teach my daughter how to plan a party. I think a valuable skill to take into adulthood. From a simple birthday party to a dinner party with friends, it’s good to have a plan in place so you’re not too stressed on the day. It was 4th of July and I thought what I perfect time to teach her and we planned a small dinner for the family. We were going to make “corn dogs” (or as we call them here in Australia, “Dagwood Dogs” or “Pluto Pups”) but it was too much effort so I came up with the idea for these Puff Pastry Hot Dogs on a Stick.

Slowly but surely my very fussy daughter is starting to eat more foods, including hot dogs but only the brown skinned variety. Heaven forbid she’d eat a red skinned frankfurt. These American style hot dogs have the same flavour as the ones we’re used to so we were good to go. All you need is the frankfurts, one sheet of puff pastry and wooden skewers.

Thread the frankfurt onto the skewer and with your knife at an angle, starting at the bottom, insert the knife into the sausage and spin the frankfurt, cutting all the way through to the stick. Keep going until you get to the top.

Slice the puff pastry into thin strips, about 1 cm (1/2″) and wrap around the sausage inserting into the cut frankfurt. Depending on the length of the sausage, you may need more than 1 length of puff pastry. These hot dogs were extra long.

Place frankfurts on a tray lined with baking paper.

Brush with a little beaten egg and bake in a 180 deg C oven for approximately 20 minutes or until pastry is golden. (I could’ve left mine in the oven a bit longer.)

Dip in your favourite sauce and enjoy. These were a real hit with the kids. They tasted similar to the deep fried variety of hot dog on a stick but with less calories. They weren’t all that fiddly to do either.

Recipe

• Frankfurts
• Puff Pastry
• Wooden skewers
• 1 egg, beaten

1. Insert skewer into centre of each frankfurt.
2. With your knife at an angle, starting at the bottom, insert the knife into the sausage and spin the frankfurt, cutting all the way through to the stick. Keep going until you get to the top, turning as you go.
3. Cut puff pastry into thin 1 cm (1/2″) strips.
4. Wrap puff pastry into spiral cut space on the sausage.
5. Place hot dogs on a tray lined with baking paper.
6. Brush with beaten egg wash and bake in a 180 deg C oven for approximately 20 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Serve with your favourite dipping sauce.