Oven Corn Dogs

Here's another one of those recipes that's good for staving off the cravings- Corn Dogs. Corn Dogs will always have a sentimental place in my heart. I had loved them as a kid, but when Dave and I started dating, we found a lot of things got, shall we say, lost in translation. For example, they have a snack cake up here called a 'Wagon Wheel'... he was telling me about eating one for lunch over the phone one night, and I thought he was saying 'Reagan Meal.' I couldn't understand why Canadians would have a meal named after an American President. That went on for about 20 minutes before it cleared up. It happened again with Corn Dogs- up here they call them Pogos. It's an interesting moment when you have to describe a corn dog to someone. It's like a hot dog, on a stick, in a corn batter, deep fried.

Nevertheless, we love corn dogs (or Pogos!) in our house. However, Deep Frying is not so healthy, and buying them frozen is surprisingly expensive, and not unsurprisingly, unhealthy. Now, I'll admit, this recipe is not quite like the traditional pogo. But it is still very delicious, far more healthy, just as easy, and a lot cheaper. I also have to admit that my recipe is based very closely on one from Martha Stewart, so I can't take the credit. Recipe!


1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup yellow cornmeal, fine to medium grind
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 Tbsp. Smoked Paprika
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons sugar
2/3 cup milk
2 large eggs
2 Tbsp. Liquid smoke
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
4-6 hot dogs or sausages


Combine your dry ingredients and then beat in your wet. Dip your hot dogs in the batter, surrounding them (this is easier to do with a spatula.) Put them on a well greased cookie sheet, and throw them in the oven at 375 for 20-25 minutes. After the first five minutes, you should check on them to make sure the batter has stayed on the hot dogs right. Just take your spatula with you and reapply it on the spots that need it. Make sure you serve with plenty of ketchup, or mustard if you're like David.

These are pretty delicious. You can play with the spices as much as you like, I like mine a little smoky. Stick a skewer or Popsicle stick in the bottom of them and eat like you would a real corn dog. My batch made 5 this time, but depending on how thick you make your batter or how much you like per hot dog, it could be more or less. We served ours with some home made oven fries. Maybe not the healthiest lunch, but a lot better than the alternative. Anyway, I hope you enjoy as much as we do!