Baked Mini Corn Dogs

This is a great way to make corn dogs without all the grease of frying them. I also think these corn dogs are really cute. We had fun making these together as a family--we worked together to cut the hot dogs, insert the skewers, roll the dough balls into ropes, and wrap the dough ropes around the mini hot dogs. This recipe is from Food Network Magazine. I actually goofed on making the dough and I added one beaten egg to the dough (I had to beat another egg to use to brush on the top of the dough as indicated in the recipe). It worked the way I did it--although I'm sure it would work if you make it the way the recipe states.

Ingredients
• 1 cup reduced-fat milk
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing
• 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup fine yellow cornmeal
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting and kneading
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or paprika
• 9 reduced-fat hot dogs, halved crosswise
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 tablespoon black sesame seeds (optional)
Directions
Warm the milk to about 110 degrees in a saucepan; pour into a medium bowl. Sprinkle in the yeast and let soften for about 2 minutes. Stir in the olive oil, brown sugar and cornmeal with a wooden spoon. Add the flour, salt, baking soda and cayenne pepper; stir to make a sticky dough.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead, adding more flour if needed, until smooth but still slightly tacky, about 5 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball, place in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Meanwhile, insert a wooden stick or small skewer into each hot dog half, about 1 inch deep; set aside.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and lightly oil a large baking sheet. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface; divide into 18 pieces. With your palms, roll each piece into a 10-inch length. Wrap each piece around a hot dog half, tucking and pressing the edges to seal; place on the baking sheet.

Brush the dough-wrapped dogs with the beaten egg; sprinkle with sesame seeds, if desired. Bake until golden, 15 minutes (check them early--mine were done at about 12 minutes).