9 Fun and Creative Ways to Serve Pigs in a Blanket

The sweet and savory flavor combination of a corn dog is irresistibly tempting to my taste buds. I could easily devour four of them if it wouldn’t send my body into meltdown. If you’ve ever wished for a corn dog that’s easy to share and slice, you’re in for a treat: You can prepare a corn dog casserole. Simply whip up a batch or two of cornbread, following the recipe instructions; both homemade and boxed mixes work equally well. Slice four to eight hot dogs into half-inch rounds and fold them into the batter before baking in a casserole dish as you normally would.

Full-sized chili dogs can be a bit unwieldy, but these handheld lit’l smokies chili buckets are far easier to handle. I use King’s Hawaiian buns, allowing my guests to pull them apart, which is fun. Hollow out the centers and fill them with chili, cheese, and cocktail sausages. Bake just long enough to heat everything through and melt the cheese. The combination of soft, subtly sweet bread and savory processed meat creates the perfect chili dog experience.

The scallion dog pain d’épi is an elegant twist on a beloved classic. Wrap a full-sized hot dog in a sheet of crescent dough, then slice it at a sharp angle along the wrapped dog. Make sure to cut through the dog without piercing the bottom of the dough, allowing you to pull each slice to the side in a staggered pattern, mimicking the traditional French wheat stalk bread, pain d’épi. Brush with a light egg wash and sprinkle chopped scallions on top. Bake and serve with your favorite dips.

Give store-bought pizza dough a quick soak in boiling baking soda water before baking it to create perfectly golden, semi-homemade pretzels. Before baking, wrap mini weenies in small dough balls, and you’ll have homemade pretzel pigs. This mall-style recipe requires wrapping each cocktail weenie individually, but once that’s done, you can boil up to 10 at a time, depending on the size of your pot. After boiling, sprinkle the dogs with coarse salt and bake until golden and crispy. Serve with a side of yellow mustard.

One of my main gripes about making pigs 'n blankets is the time-consuming wrapping process. This easy-wrap method lets you make the classic wrapped mini franks or a pull-apart version in a fraction of the usual time. Simply line up the hot dogs on a strip of dough, cover them, then slice them into individual pieces. Just three simple steps, so you can get back to your spot on the couch in no time.

Blankets are cozy, but don’t you think your pigs would feel even cozier in a duvet? Wrap your piggies in store-bought crescent dough, and then? Waffle them, of course. The dough will cook between the hot plates of the waffle iron while warming the frankfurters inside. Slice the waffle into quarters to share with friends, if necessary, and serve with plenty of dipping sauces—the divots make it so much easier to dip.

One of the best hot dogs I’ve ever had was the Jon-Jon Deragon from Crif Dogs. It’s since been renamed to something less memorable, but the flavors are what made it stand out. It’s a salty, snappy hot dog, paired with tangy cream cheese, sharp scallions, and a dusting of everything bagel seasoning (wrapped in bacon if you’re brave). To make pigs in a bagel roll at home, combine room temperature cream cheese with bagel seasoning and chopped scallions, then grab a pack of pre-made pizza dough. Cut off golf ball-sized pieces, flatten them, and fill with mini weenies and a smear of seasoned cream cheese, then seal and bake.

Sure, it’s not October, but mummies are a timeless phenomenon—just ask Brendan Fraser. (It’s my favorite movie, so please don’t judge.) Get creative with your piggies by wrapping full-sized hot dogs in strips of crescent dough. Once wrapped, place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and slice into bite-sized pieces. Bake them up, then add little mustard eyes for a fun touch. Mummy pigs are a great way to use leftover crescent dough, frozen puff pastry scraps, or any other pastry leftovers you have in the freezer.

Choux puffs are little pastry wonders, perfect for impressing your guests with their endless snack possibilities, especially when they cradle tiny franks. The dough puffs up into a delightful balloon, and once cooled, you can split them open to fill the pockets with dips and hot dogs. Let your friends do the work by serving a bowl of choux puffs alongside your pigs on the snack table, or if you’re feeling extra generous, assemble the pigs in their puffs before your guests arrive.