Corn Dogs

Corn dogs became a birthday tradition for my girls a few years ago, when I discovered that I could, in fact, make them gluten-free! We had a big birthday party for my oldest daughter's 3rd birthday and I wanted to make something that would be fun for the kids to eat as well as the adults. Since we are the only gluten-free family that was at the party, I wanted to make them taste good enough that no one would know the difference, other than that they were homemade. I started with my regular cornbread batter, dipped the skewered, uncured hot dogs in the batter and fried them. Its really easy and who makes corn dogs at home? Everyone was impressed and no one knew they were gluten-free. We only have them two times per year, on each of my daughters' birthdays. Without fail, each time I ask the girls what they want to eat on their special day, they enthusiastically reply, "Corn dogs!!". I hope your family enjoys the recipe as much as ours does.

Yield: 8 - 12 corn dogs

Ingredients:

• 1 to 2 packages gluten-free hot dogs. I use uncured hot dogs because we don't like nitrates or nitrites. I have even used uncured cocktail smokies for cute little corn dogs.
• 1 cup gluten-free flour mix
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup honey or sugar
• 1/4 cup oil (your choice) or melted butter
• 1 cup milk or water
• rice flour for dusting hot dogs
• oil for frying -  you can use any high-heat oil, just remember to use one without a strong flavor
• 8 - 12 wooden corn dog sticks - available at most supermarkets (you can also use bamboo kabob skewers, cut in half)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Place a cookie sheet with a wire rack on top of it in the oven. Heat oil to 375 degrees Fahrenheit on the stove top in a heavy bottomed pot. You want to fry the corn-dogs at about 350 degrees, but the temperature will drop as soon as you put the first batch in, so its good to start a little higher.

Insert wooden sticks at least two-thirds of the way into hot dogs. Set aside.

Put gluten-free flour mix, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and xanthan gum in a mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Add egg, honey or sugar, oil or butter, and milk and mix until there are no lumps. Transfer batter to a tall container to make dipping the hot dogs easier. I used a quart yogurt container.

Put rice flour in a rectangular baking dish big enough to fit the skewered hot dogs end to end. Coat each skewered hot dog in rice flour. This helps the batter stick to the hot dogs. Dip each hot dog into cornbread batter and swirl to make sure the whole thing is covered in a layer of batter. Fry in batches for about 3 minutes or until golden brown, making sure the oil temperature remains at around 350 degrees. If the temperature goes below 350, wait for it to heat back up before frying another batch. Transfer finished corn dogs to the rack in the oven. Serve with your favorite condiments and enjoy!

Note: These freeze really well. Just put them in a bag in the freezer and when you want to reheat them, pop them into a 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.

More to come with Love!