Corn Dog Muffins

The Duggars may be known for their "tater tot casserol" (which may I say is pretty good, you can find their recipe here).  But our family is known for it's creative spins on things, like corn dog muffins! 

A few years (or once upon a time, how ever you would like to start) we ran out of corn dogs. Upon arriving at the store to purchase more, I took a good look at the price.  I refuse to spend money on things we don't "need", and on that day, I didn't feel that we "needed" to spend what basically broke down to over $1 per corn dog.  But upon arriving home I found out that my kids had a much different opinion of what we need. I was beginning to have a feeling like they were going to go on strike if I didn't figure out something, thus, "corn dog muffins" were born.

First, mix up some of your favorite corn bread or corn muffin batter, I found a old recipe for some honey corn muffins which were very yummy!.  

Then cut up some hot dogs small enough to fit in each muffin tin.  For the pictures I used my regular sized muffin pans, normally I use mini muffin pans which makes them bite sized (but, they were dirty this day).  And for smaller kids I have sliced up the hotdog into non choking sized pieces and mixed them into the batter.

 

Next, Fill each muffin cup with some batter and set a hot dog in each one. 

(I recommend using paper cupcake liners, but I ran out of those 2 batches ago and I keep forgetting to buy more, but spraying each cup works well too)

 

  Finally bake according to the corn muffin directions, it may take a few extra minutes, just keep a eye on them and when they are golden brown they are done!

The batter rises over the hotdogs while baking hiding the hotdogs inside.  The first time I made these I called them "surprise muffins", the kids were very surprised to find hot dogs on the inside and forgave me for not buying corn dogs.

These are not that hard to make and cheaper than packaged frozen corn dogs (and I would think that being baked and not deep fried, maybe they are a little healthier? especially if you use turkey hot dogs).  

Also, if you like the convenience of frozen corn dogs, these freeze well, I just throw them in a baggie and freeze.  When you want a corn dog muffin, just grab one and throw it in the microwave for a little bit and enjoy!