I love food. Food makes me happy. Serving food to happy people makes me happy. So wouldn’t you know, we went out and had five children and none of them have the same taste in food. There are next to no meals that I can make that everyone in the family likes. One week I gave each of the kids their own day to choose a meal. I figured that way at least they would be happy with the meal one out of five days right? This was a huge hit for the kids!
When it was Joy’s day she chose homemade corn dogs and asked to make them, with help. We had so much fun in the kitchen!
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 package Hot Dogs, 10 count
- 10 wooden skewers (We used chop sticks.)
- Vegetable Oil for frying
Mix all the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl beat the egg and add the other liquids, mix and combine with the dry mixture.
Pat the hot dogs dry and then gently push the wooden skewers about three fourths of the way through them.
Pour the batter into a glass. This makes it super easy to coat the hot dog.
Coating the hot dog with just a little flour also helps the batter stick.
Coat the hot dog with the breading and then transfer it directly to a pot of oil heated to 350 degrees.
I use a cheap candy thermometer to get temperatures right when I’m frying. Fry the corn dogs for about 3 minutes turning as needed until they are golden brown.
Place on a paper towel lined plate. Repeat until all the corn dogs are made and fried.
Joy was very proud of her very own homemade corn dogs!
When we had cooked all the corn dogs where was still quite a bit of batter left over. I mixed in handfuls of shredded cheese and chopped jalapenos and fried it by spoonfuls.
Oh my goodness. These were amazing! Next time I’m adding cheese and jalapenos to the batter from the beginning and making Jalapeno Cheddar Corn Dogs. Yum!
Everyone liked this meal. I found it kind of humorous that those of the family who aren’t huge store bought corn dog lovers went crazy for the homemade version.
There are several steps, but these really are super easy to make. It took us about 45 minutes start to finish.
Our kids only eat homemade corn dogs. The store-bought/restaurant versions are pure poison. My recipe is almost identical to yours, and they are a staple in our barbeques all summer long. The kids ask for them constantly in the summer (I guess because they see them around in so many outdoor venues)and I can feel good about serving them. Love that you posted this on your blog. So many people think it is too hard or complicated to make healthier homemade versions of favorite kid foods and you showed how easy it is!!
Thank you Alicia!
Ok, so we went out and had three children (hat’s off to you! 5!), and are late bloomers to the “kid cooking night” method, but with the eldest 14 and the youngest 9, we started the kid cooking night (each chose a night) just this year and it is hands down the funnest thing we have hit upon to restore family harmony! (In the house anyway)…I am going to pass this recipe on to my middle son. I’ll let you know how it went! thanks so much!
It is such a great way to plan meals! Let me know how you like them!
Can you make these a day ahead?
I don’t see why not! You’d just have to experiment with reheating them. Our family is so big they get gobbled up! 🙂
Sounds fun and easy!
What do you do with the leftover oil?
Thanks! I refrigerate it until the next time I fry.
can we freeze these ? these look amazing
I’ve never tried freezing them. They always vanish at my house, but I don’t see why not!
You might want to try vegan hot dogs those things are full of crap.
Please keep your vegan lament to yourself. Many people like their hotdogs full of “crap.” (Yes, this is sarcasm). Bye the way, why do vegan like to disguise their food as meat products. Anyway your can batter any veg you want. Leave our hotdogs alone.
Oh this made me laugh! I always say I’m definitely crunchy. Doritos are a staple. lol Everything in moderation for me. But my husband reads every label and gets scared to death, so I get the other side too. I figure we balance each other out. 🙂
Maybe I missed something but what is the tablespoon of vegetable oil and tablespoon of sugar at the end of the recipe for?
Ah! Fixed that!