Mini Corn Dogs
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These Mini Corn Dogs are super easy and fun to make! A delicious little treat on a stick, these are guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser no matter the occasion!
The Best Corn Dogs Recipe
Some of my favorite memories in life involve corn dogs, how is that you may ask? Well think of being a kid at the fair or cheering in the stands at the game, holding one of these puppies in your hand just seemed to make it all the more memorable! If you’d like to feel all that nostalgia at home, then my super easy and wickedly fun Mini Corn Dog recipe is for you!
Why You Should Make These Corn Dogs
- Easy to make with just a few ingredients needed.
- Kid friendly! Kids will love these little treats.
- Egg free! Perfect batter that’s egg free!
- Freezer friendly! Make a couple batches, enjoy some and freeze the rest!
Corn dogs
- Hot dogs – Cut in half, feel free to use any hot dog you’d like. You can even make this dish vegetarian with a little faux dog!
- Sticks – Not really an ingredient, but a must for making corn dogs. Lollipop sticks, we need something that can handle being so close to hot oil. Wooden skewers will also work if that’s what you have on hand.
- Vegetable oil – We’re looking for something neutral tasting that holds up well to high heat, such as Canola oil or peanut oil.
Batter
- Dry ingredients – Cornmeal, all purpose flour, baking powder, sugar. You can use gluten free flour and cornmeal as long as you use ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum to bind.
- Wet ingredients – Milk, feel free to use any kind of milk you’d like. Even buttermilk, half and half or lactose free milk will work.
- Seasoning – Salt and pepper.
- Prepare the oil. In a large Dutch oven, pour the vegetable oil to a depth of 4 inches. Heat the oil to 350°F.
- Get the hot dogs ready. Stick each half hot dog onto the lollipop sticks. You can use wooden skewers as well.
- Prepare the corn dogs. In a bowl, combine all the batter ingredients and whisk. I found it easier to pour the batter in a long glass. Dip each hot dog into the cornmeal batter to completely cover the hot dog.
- Fry the corn dogs. Carefully place the hot dogs into the hot oil. Fry until golden brown, about 2 or 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels. I fried about 2 or 3 at a time. Repeat with remaining hot dogs and batter. Serve with ketchup and mustard.
A Mini History Of Corn Dogs
This little delicacy was supposedly first invented at the Minnesota State Fair in 1941. Since then it has been enjoyed by generations of North Americans at games, fairs, and drive thus alike. Even the city I live in now pumps them out once a year in the craziest combinations, at the Calgary Stampede.
I for one, can probably count on one hand the number of times I’ve actually had a corn dog in my life. I do remember buying the prepackaged ones a long time ago and although I hate to admit it, I did love them. But a fresh corn dog is always better, especially a mini one!
What Else Can I Put In My Corn Dogs?
The fun doesn’t end here! Since these little Corn Dogs are so easy to make, why not play around with them some more? Try some of these fun twists:
- Chop up some jalapeños right in the batter for a spicy kick!
- Wrap your little hot dog in some American Cheese before dipping it in the batter and frying.
- Add some curry powder to your batter and garam masala to your ketchup for a curry kick!
- Get creative with your hot dog base, feel free to substitute your favorite sausage or smokey in its place.
- The Calgary Stampede features a hot dog stuffed in a hollowed out pickle dipped in batter and fried, this is a delicious treat that I encourage you to try!
Can I Bake My Corn Dogs?
While I do recommend frying these treats for the absolute best results, you can also make them in the oven.
Preheat your oven to 375°F and batter your hot dogs as usual. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes before removing from the oven. Spoon the batter that has collected on the parchment paper back onto the dogs and place back in the oven. Bake until golden for about 20 minutes.
Can I Make This Recipe Ahead?
This recipe is best enjoyed fresh so I do recommend enjoying them right away, but if you’re in a time crunch or have leftovers, they also store just fine.
Fridge
These mini corn dogs can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for 2 – 3 days. You may find they get a bit soggy so I don’t recommend storing them for much longer than that. Just zap in the microwave when ready to enjoy.
Freezer
You can freeze these treats! Just freeze them individually on a baking sheet till frozen through, around 2 hours, then store in an airtight container for up to 1 month. Pop them in the oven at 350°F till heated through when ready to eat, please don’t put them in a fryer to reheat as it is not safe and could cause the oil to spit back violently.
Other Delicious Snacks To Try
- Bacon Corn Dip
- Banana Fritters
- Antojitos
- Crispy Baked Parmesan Wings
- Sweet Chicken Bacon Bites
- Canadian Butter Tarts
- Ham And Cheese Sliders
- Cheesy Guacamole
- Corn Fritters
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Mini Corn Dogs
Ingredients
- 6 hot dogs (cut in half)
- 12 lollipop sticks
- vegetable oil (for frying)
For batter
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cornmeal
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ cup milk
- ¼ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon pepper (or to taste)
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Prepare the oil. In a large Dutch oven, pour the vegetable oil to a depth of 4 inches. Heat the oil to 350°F.
- Get the hot dogs ready. Stick each half hot dog onto the lollipop sticks. You can use wooden skewers as well.
- Prepare the corn dogs. In a bowl, combine all the batter ingredients and whisk. I found it easier to pour the batter in a long glass. Dip each hot dog into the cornmeal batter to completely cover the hot dog.
- Fry the corn dogs. Carefully place the hot dogs into the hot oil. Fry until golden brown, about 2 or 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels. I fried about 2 or 3 at a time. Repeat with remaining hot dogs and batter.
- Serve. Serve with ketchup and/or mustard.
Notes
- These mini corn dogs can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for 2 – 3 days. You may find they get a bit soggy so I don’t recommend storing them for much longer than that. Just zap in the microwave when ready to enjoy.
- You can freeze these treats! Just freeze them individually on a baking sheet till frozen through, around 2 hours, and store in an airtight container for up to 1 month. Pop them in the oven at 350 F degrees till heated through when ready to eat, please don’t put them in a fryer to reheat as it is not safe and could cause the oil to spit back violently.
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
In Australia we call these treats Dagwood and are a staple at any show (I think what Americans call fair).
Oh, good to know, had no idea!
I made those tonight for dinner and they were pretty good, the question I have is: After lowering the corndogs into the oil some of the batters start to flare up and it was hard to turn them to get the other side brown, what did I do wrong?
You didn’t do anything wrong, they’re probably just floating to the top, use a pair of tongs to hold them on the other side so they properly fry.
Is it possible to use an air fryer?
Not for this recipe as the batter is too liquidy!
Can these be made without cornmeal?Christ
They are corn dogs, so it wouldn’t quite be the same. We’ve never done this recipe without the cornmeal but you are free to give it a try.
Can corn dogs be frozen for later use?
Yes, absolutely. I would probably wrap each one individually in plastic wrap and they would probably last for up to 1 month in the freezer.
This recipe is making me drool all over my computer screen! Yummmmm! Thank you so much for sharing this awesome recipe! Pinning it to my Yummy Recipes Board! 😀
Also I want to tell you that your food photography is Stunning!!!
Thank you for the compliment, means a lot to me!
Hi,
Can’t seem to find cornmeal can I use corn starch or more flour?
Corn starch and flour will not work. You really have to have the cornmeal.
I just made this recipe but used honey instead of sugar for some natural sweetness and so it would be like the honey corndogs you can find and I just covered them in batter and fried them without the stick so they would be completely finger food and they turned out great.
what a great idea !
Hi Jo! Have you tried these the day after? I’d like to fry them up the night before, refrigerate and warm them up in the oven the next day for a noon party! What do you think?
To be honest no, they didn’t last until the day after, but that should be just fine, you could just microwave for a bit and I’m sure they’ll be just fine.
The lollipop sticks are plastic, how did they go in the hot oil? I’m thinking of using wooden skewers.
The ends were mostly sticking out so they were fine, but wooden skewers work as well.
Thanks for the recipe. Just wondering if It is ok to refrigerate the batter so I can use it early next morning to make the corndog for my son ‘s school snack?
Hi Nazia,
I haven’t tried it, usually I make them right away but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. The only change I’d make though is maybe not add the baking powder until the morning.
Do you have a baked corn dog? Is that even possible? Thanks! Tracey
No I don’t Tracey, these would not work baked, the batter is too thin for them to stay on the dog,maybe if the batter were a little thicker, but without further recipe testing I couldn’t tell you for sure.
Hi Jo,
Love this recipie, to make them taste more like pogos I used schneiders original hot dogs. I put 1 tsp of sea salt and hand cranked freah pepper 8 times. Which turned out perfect and I used a deepfryer.
Thank you
This will be a fave in our house for sure!
Nec
That’s wonderful, so glad you liked it. 🙂
Hi Jo, good afternoon.
My question is. . If I do not have a Dutch oven can a deep fryer be used instead?
Thank you!
Absolutely Michelle, I don’t have one so that’s why I used a Dutch oven. They might even turn out nicer in a deep fryer. 🙂
Thank you for the feedback Jo!
Hey Jo,
Thanks for this recipe it looks great. Little question though .. if I don’t have a Dutch oven can I just use something else to deep fry it? Will it still come out as well?
Thanks!
Oh yeah, any deeper pot should work.