Homemade Corn Dogs

My 4 year old, excuse me 4 and a half year old, celebrated his half birthday in March and requested corn dogs for dinner. (Yes, we celebrate half birthdays. The person celebrating picks what he/she wants for dinner and dessert. Nothing fancy, but it's one more fun thing to do and allow me to cook fun stuff!) Being the person I am, I was not going to go to the freezer section and buy some. He's actually been asking me to learn how to make them for awhile. I wanted to find a recipe that didn't use a cornbread box mix in the ingredients, which a lot of them do. This one from A Cozy Kitchen does not. I did have a semi-difficult time getting the batter to stick, but after many swirls of the dog, I got it to work. I noted it below. These were not hard at all! Dinner was ready fast and I may actually do it again. Because, you know, I do like a good corn dog every now and then, this mommy loves hot dogs!

Homemade Corn Dogs
adapted from A Cozy Kitchen

Ingredients:
2/3 cups of all-purpose flour
1/2 cup corn meal (I used white buttermilk cornmeal.)
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne
1 egg
3/4 cup of milk
4-6 hot dogs (I used all beef EarthFare no preservative, nitrite, or bad stuff.)
4 tablespoons of cornstarch (for dredging)
4-6 wooden skewers (cut to a 6 inch length)

Directions:

Get some tongs and line a baking sheet or plate with paper towels. (For the corn dogs after frying.)

Pour your oil in a cast iron skillet, dutch oven, or deep fryer. Heat over medium-high heat until your thermometer reads 375 degrees F. I do not have a thermometer, but after knowing my oil got to hot, I'm going to invest in one. You don't want the outside to cook to fast, because the inside will still be gooey and not cooked.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, corn meal, baking powder, salt, baking soda and cayenne. In a large bowl whisk the one egg and milk. Then add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients all at once, mixing until just combined. The mixture will look a lot like pancake mix. Don’t over-mix and let it rest for 10 minutes. Note: I transferred the mixture to a skinnier cup. It makes it much easier to dip in the batter.

While your batter is resting, lay your cornstarch on a baking sheet or big plate. Place each hot dog on a skewer and roll in the cornstarch, being sure to pat off any excess. Then quickly dip the hot dog in and out of the batter. Immediately place the corn dog in the hot oil.

*Note- If your experience goes like mine, the dip will not be quick. The batter wouldn't stick very well, I had to roll it and dip it and do just about everything to get it coated, but eventually it worked. I tried one without cornstarch and the batter wouldn't stick at all, and I mean at all.

Cook until the coating is golden brown, 4-5 minutes.Since I cooked mine in a skillet, I had to turn/rotate my corn dogs throughout cooking to cook them evenly. Remove with tongs and place on paper towels for draining. Serve with ketchup and mustard.

This recipe is linked to It's a Keeper Thursday, Prairie Story, Tidy Mom , Potluck Sunday, and Fat Camp Friday