Corn Dog Muffins

I have been making these muffins for lunches lately. They are a huge hit! The recipe/concept came from my friend Monica (thanks!). I mentioned making these in an e-mail to my mom and sister and now my sister is making them as well. I hope they are a hit in your home. You can use any corn muffin mix/recipe. The following recipe uses Hodgson Mill Corn Meal Muffin recipe as the base.

Corn Dog Muffins

Combine:
1 1/2 cups Yellow Corn Meal
1 cup Unbleached All Purpose Flour
1 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/4 tsp. Baking Soda
1/4 cup Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt

Blend together:
1 cup Buttermilk
1 beaten Egg
1/4 cup Vegetable Oil

Add-ins:
2 hotdogs, sliced length-wise into half-moons and then length-wise again. The slice across into 1/8" pieces (we use the Oscar Meyer Premium hotdogs, which are nitrate and nitrite free)
1/2 cup shredded cheese (we usually use cheddar)

Preheat oven to 400F. Prepare muffin tins by lining with muffin papers or spraying with no-stick cooking spray.

Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix just until moistened. Let mixture sit for 5 minutes. Fold hotdog pieces and cheese into batter.

Spoon batter into muffin tins, filling them 3/4 full. Bake for 15 minutes or until tops of muffins are golden brown. Remove from pans and serve immediately or cool on racks. Makes one dozen.

Notes:

1. Monica makes these into mini-muffins.
2. I usually don't have buttermilk on hand, so I add a teaspoon of vinegar to a cup of milk instead.
3. This is another recipe that I double and freeze to make packing lunches easier. They thaw over the course of the morning and are ready come lunchtime.