I rarely eat meat, and beef is a definite no for me. And I’m not a fan of buying hot dogs, let alone eating them, but I thought I would get this posted while I’m in the spirit and also making a batch of pigs in a blanket for the guys in the house. When my kids were young (BC= Before Crohn’s) this recipe was the highlight of any holiday dinner. It wasn’t the turkey, mashed potatoes, or the sweet potatoes. It was the pigs in a blanket.
I used to bake about 40 of these little piggies and they were devoured in a matter of minutes. The ingredients were quite simple: Hebrew National hot dogs and Crescent Roll dough from the refrigerated section of the market. After Crohn’s (AC), I was under pressure to recreate a gluten-free, SCD-legal pigs in a blanket, and about 4 years ago I did just that. They occasionally accompanied us to dinner parties, with the understanding that the recipe was purely experimental. They still disappeared in record time.
I personally think this is popular because of the hot dogs, but my older son says he likes the texture of the pastry. I would be happy dipping almost anything in a good mustard. My current lunch treat is taking a slice of gluten-free bread, dropping a bit of cheese on it, toasting it, and then spreading mustard and sauerkraut all over it and eating it in about 4 big bites. Next time I’ll make a few blankets with cheese melted in them (instead of hot dogs), and dip them in mustard and sauerkraut.
Some recommendations here: pigs in a blanket are best served with a side of stone ground, Dijon, or other fine mustard, and for one of us, ketchup is ideal.
If you don’t eat nuts or almonds, and are in search of a gluten-free crescent roll recipe, you might want to check out this post from Heidi over at Adventures of a Gluten-free Mom.
Pigs in a Blanket {almond flour}
This recipes makes between 40-50 little piggies. I’ve kept leftovers in the refrigerator and reheated them a day or two later, so you probably could make these ahead of time, or at least prepare them ahead of time and then bake when ready. They’re best when straight out of the oven. If you’re finding the dough is a bit moist, add more almond flour, and freeze or refrigerate the dough for a bit longer so it’s easier to roll and handle.Ingredients
- 3 cups of blanched almond flour
- 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter, cold and diced into chunks
- 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
- 1 teaspoon of honey
- 2 eggs
- 12 to 14 hot dogs (I use Applegate Farms hot dogs)
Method
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
- Prepare the dough by adding all the ingredients in a food processor and pulsing it until it is blended and ready to form a ball of dough. You can also do this by hand with a fork or spoon – it just takes longer.
- Separate the dough into two balls, cover and place in the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes, or the refrigerator for about 20 minutes.
- Slice each hot dog into 4 pieces (or choose a size that you like).
- Roll the dough out between two pieces of parchment paper (or other non-stick surface) until you have a flat, round circle about an 1/8 of an inch thick (or so). If the dough is stickly, add some flour or place in the refrigerator for a bit longer.
- Using a pizza cutter or knife, slice the flattened dough into pie slices, triangular, until you have triangle slices that are not wider than the width of the hot dog pieces.
- Place each hot dog piece at the base of the triangle slice of dough (the widest part) and then roll the dough over the hot dog until it is completely rolled around the hot dog piece. It should resemble a crescent roll-type rolling shape.
- Place each piggy on parchment paper on top of a cookie sheet.
- Bake for 10 minutes, or until the edges begin to brown.
- Cool for a few minutes and dip in mustard or ketchup.
Thank you. I’ve been looking for a non dairy version as I’m trying keto.
You’re welcome. What did you sub for honey?
I am SO excited to try this as the crust for my favorite breakfast casserole! Do you think it will work as one big piece? I started Keto 3 months ago, and am really missing my casseroles 🙁
Yes. Or you can also try one of my pie crusts and leave out any sweetener I may have added.
Hubby and I tried these today for super bowl Sunday. Unfortunately we ran out of almond flour making a dessert and the only kind my store had was unblanched almond meal. I will try these again with blanched almond flour and hopefully it works better. They completely fell apart for me when trying to roll so they were not pretty. I look forward to trying again when my almond flour comes next week.
Yes, you want blanched almond flour for this recipe.
I wish my store would have had some but I live in a smaller town and the closest big box store is 10-15 minutes away. It was a last minute thing that I realized I was out and it was snowing so didn’t want to make the trip over there. I’m curious why it would be such a different result? What’s the difference?
The almond meal has skin ground up in it. You can try adding another egg, or half an egg to the batter to see if it sticks together a bit better. But blanched almond flour will work better. Also, try freezing the dough for 10 minutes before rolling it. My dough breaks a bit also, even with almond flour.
It was frozen before rolling but still broke apart terribly. Hoping for a better result with my blanched flour which should be here tomorrow.
So tasty! I had a hard time rolling up the hot dog pieces because the triangles kept breaking, but mushed them together and they taste awesome! Second batch I tried covering the whole hotdog in the dough and then cutting – worked well but not as cute :). Thank you for the recipe!!!!!
Good to hear! Great idea, rolling it whole and then cutting. The dough is easier to roll when it’s soft, and as you discovered, it can be mushed back together 🙂
Is there anything I can substitute for the butter in this recipe? Thank you!
Ghee will work. Coconut oil will likely work, but I haven’t tested it.
I’m looking for a substitute “crescent” style dough to make the cold “vegetable pizza” appetizer where the crust is baked until done, then spread with cream cheese and covered with tiny bits of all sorts of raw vegetables, then sliced into many small portions. Do you think this would work for that?
the texture is different so likely it won’t be the same
Do you think you could use this dough to make either apple or peach dumplings?
not sure, I haven’t tried it.
if I leave the dough over night in the fridge will that be bad?…… or?…
Seal it well and roll and cut it while it’s still a bit cold. It should be ok.
Made them tonight for the super bowl! Super yummy!
Yay! {gohawks}
Perfect – thank you. Super Bowl Sunday is upon us and I’m going to need things like this to keep me from straying from the diet.
You’re welcome. Stay strong! 🙂
Can you use a chia egg instead of the egg?
sorry, I haven’t tried it.
I don’t know what I did wrong. They are in the oven now, but my dough was super oily and would not stay together. Did I not add enough flour?
can you list your ingredients? You can add more flour if it’s oily but I haven’t encountered that. One more thought: freeze the dough before rolling it.
I did exactly as it says above, but I didn’t pack the flour. I think that may have been the issue.
Hmmm. Well I don’t pack the flour either but it seems like maybe that will work.
Has anyone tried these without the honey, doing the whole 30, but just bought hot dogs and would love to make these for the kids this weekend.
I think you can ommit the honey – the egg should be enough to keep it together. if not, add more egg or egg whites and maybe a bit of salt or other seasoning.
Thanks
So i made these and I could not get my hotdogs rolled up in them because they kept crumbling. HELP! My son is dying to try them.
Try adding more egg or a drop of liquid ( water or milk ). It sounds like the dough is dry or doesn’t have enough to bind it (egg)
The dough came out really sticky! I couldn’t roll the hotdogs around it because it was so sticky. I ended up putting the pieces of chopped up hot dog into the bowl and mixing it around with the dough. It came out tasty but I’m sure it would have been better the way you described it! I’m not sure why I had a problem. I did cut the recipe in half.
Next time, place it in the freezer for a bit longer, or add more flour to the dough.
Nikki, that sounds delicious! On my list to try soon.
I’ve made this recipe a few times now! Thanks again, I never get tired of pigs in a blanket. This last batch I didn’t have a full package of hot dogs. So I decided to use the remainder of the dough for apples! It was yummy, I just added a sprinkle of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger to the flattened out dough, and then rolled up some apples chunks.
WOW! Just WOW! I’m super impressed at how ‘pig in a blanket’ like they tasted! THANK YOU THANK YOU!
My twins have never had them (they are 6), so what a treat they are in for.
Also: I added 3 eggs (since mine were slightly smaller and used Earth Balance butter, so they would be dairy free). So far, it worked.
Christy S in TX
I really like these but the last time I made them the dough was breaking apart as I rolled the hotdogs around. Any suggestions on what I might be doing wrong?
It can be a bit delicate. I found that freezing makes it more “breakable” so avoid doing that. A bit less almond flour, maybe another egg (if you’re using smaller eggs) would help as well. If it breaks you can just press it back together. Also, avoid rolling it too thin.
I was wondering, where can i buy the Applegate Farms hot dogs? I’ve looked at whole foods but i cannot find them. Do you know of any other stores where i can buy them? Thanks
you can see if they’ll order it at your request. Whole foods does that. They do it for gluten-free brands as well.
Target has Applegate
Good to know – thanks!
I tried them out and they turned out fantastic! I referenced you and your wonderful blog on my own when I made them and posted your recipe! Thank you!
I will also sprinkle mine with parmesan cheese like they do on my favorite Trader Joe’s pigs-in-a- blanket!!
thanks. it should work.. i’m having a go at it tonight and i’ll let you know how it turns out!
i want to try these as a bring-along lunch in the car this weekend, – do you think that they’d work ok with coconut oil in the pastry instead of butter?
I haven’t tried it yet, but yes, I think they’ll work.
These look fantastic! Thank you! Anyone try an egg substitute? Did it work well?
These look great, can’t wait to try them. I wonder if this would work with cornmeal to make corn dogs? Cornmeal and almond flour are almost the same texture. Thanks for sharing.
My son’s sixth birthday party is today and I am super excited to make these!
So, I understand that the yield is approximate, based on how many pieces you cut up each hotdog into and how wide you slice the dough, but if you cut 14 hotdogs into four pieces each that would make 56 pieces. The listed yield is 32. I’ll just cut as I roll I suppose, but it would be good to have a better idea how many this makes, for planning purposes. If there’s only enough dough to make 32, then maybe I only need to cut up 8 hotdogs? KWIM?
oh, sorry. I didn’t adjust the yield when I adjusted the other amounts. Thanks for pointing that out!!
These were such a hit! I made about 50 or so out of 14 hotdogs.
OMG! No sugar in these hotdogs! I can’t remember the last time I had a hotdog. Can’t wait to give these I try. Nom Nom Nom
Okay so I tried these this weekend and they are GREAT! Super easy , fast and scrumptious. I did have to alter the recipe a little, because I can’t eat dairy. Instead of the butter I used ghee for one batch and coconut oil for my next batch. Both worked well. Thanks again for the recipe!
Good to know. Thanks!
I noticed in the ingredients to the hot dogs that it uses “organic spices.” Are you positive these are 100% SCD safe?
I would sure love to use them for this recipe if they are.
I can’t confirm that. You would have to contact the company to confirm that they’re SCD.
If you look on the applegate farms website, you can see what these spices are:
Paprika, Cayenne Pepper, Coriander, Mace, Ginger, White Pepper
They’re legal 🙂
thanks Anna! Yes, I always read the label before I buy. Sometimes the manufacturer changes the ingredients, so it’s a good idea to check consistently.
Is 400F for a convection oven, or a conventional one? I want to make sure before I try it so I don’t scorch my pigs.
You just made me smile – I think it was the word scorch. I used a convection setting for this, so no worries. It won’t get as dark as fast as mine did. I’m just impatient.
Can you make these using coconut flour? If so, are the measurements the same?
I haven’t but probably not.
YUM, can’t wait to try them!
They look delicious. I need to find some Almond Flour and fast.
I have been waiting for someone to come up with an almond flour recipe for these! Thank you! Do you think they might freeze well? I would love to make these in bulk and pull them out for a quick lunch.
great idea. I don’t know. It’s worth a try 🙂
Normally I wait until I make the recipe before I comment on it, so that I am able to give feedback. But I am so excited about these I could no wait. I never thought I would ever have anything similar to creasent rolls ever again! Thank you for sharing and I will tell you what I think after I make some this weekend.
Oh my goodness seriously. Who would have thought? Definitely will be trying these.
Wow! I can’t wait to make these. Thanks for all that you do and create.
woops. I’ll add that info now. Yes, I cut the butter up when cold. But it probably doesn’t matter that much.
Are you supposed to melt the butter before adding to the food processor? I didn’t, and when the dough was all pulsed there were noticeable pieces of butter throughout it…I’m sure it’ll still work, just wondering what you do!
Pigs in a blanket were really popular in our house too. We liked them so much, my Mom managed to find beach towels with actual pigs wrapped up in blankets. It was awesome. Great recipe!
Adorable!
So making these tonight! Thanks!