Friday, April 16, 2010

This Little Piggy

In the words of my friend, Heather, "Shazaam!" These pigs-in-a-blanket are definitely exclamation worthy.

Pops, husband extraordinaire, managed to perform diagnostic tests, order a new part, install, and finally ... fix my broken oven! (Insert chorus of "Hallelujah" angels here.) With the machine now spittin' out the heat, I had some serious baking to catch up on ... namely some loaves of bread, for we all know that a family without bread is in dire straits. Since I was elbow deep in doughy carb chaos, and completely forgot about the impending dinner hour, I hauled out some franks from the freezer.

Using the crescent roll recipe, I spun up some blankets for these piggies. Once you have your dough ready from the first rise and cut dough into (small) fist sized blobs, you've got some blanket options:

You can snake-roll that dough and then wind 'em round.

Or, you can flatten your dough blob, place your frank in the middle (or a spicy brat, like Pops would wish for), slice a few slits and cris-cross those little dough arms for a nice braided effect.

Let them rise for about 20-30 minutes. If you have the time, brush on an egg wash (whip an egg and add a splash of water) to make them shiny and pretty.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 8 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake another 5 minutes or 'til golden brown. (Or 350 convection for about 15 minutes.)

Serve with plenty of ketchup and a salad, and watch those hungry little monkeys of yours get excited. Shazaam!