Homemade Pigs in a Blanket

These homemade pigs in a blanket are the perfect snack, appetizer or dinner any time of the year. They are made with an easy homemade dough or you can substitute for store bought crescent dough to save time.

Pigs in a blanket are the perfect party appetizer or snack for Christmas, New Years Eve and even game days. Make them from scratch with a few basic ingredients and enjoy them anytime.

This recipe includes homemade crescent dough that comes together relatively easily. You need to allow the dough to rise, but the additional prep time is less than 30 minutes.

Serve these homemade pigs in a blanket at kids parties, holiday parties and more.

Why You Love This Recipe

• These make the perfect party appetizer or snack.
• Kids and adult love this easy recipe.
• You can save time by using store-bought crescent dough, puff pastry or biscuit dough.
• You can adjust the flavors by adding cheese, everything bagel seasoning, salt and more.

Ingredients You Need

You will need little smokies and a few other basic ingredients for the crescent roll dough that you probably already have in your kitchen.

For the Homemade Crescent Roll Dough

• Milk – Whole or 2% milk works best.
• Dry Active Yeast – You will only need one tablespoon of dry active yeast which is a little more than one packet of yeast.
• Sugar – Use granulated sugar for this recipe.
• Butter – Unsalted butter is preferred, but you can use salted if needed.
• Flour – You will need all purpose flour for this recipe. You can substitute 1-1 gluten free all-purpose flour, if desired.
• Salt

You can substitute the homemade dough with store-bought crescent dough, puff pastry or biscuit dough to save time, if desired. Be sure to thaw any frozen dough in the refrigerator overnight.

For the Pigs in a Blanket

• Little Smokies – Also called “Lit’l Smokies” or cocktail wieners. You can find them at many large retailers. If you can’t find little smokies (mini hot dogs), you can use regular hot dogs cut into quarters.
• Egg + Water for the Egg Wash – You can use melted butter instead of an egg wash, if desired.
• Seasonings (Optional) – Add seasonings like coarse salt, freshly chopped parsley, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, everything bagel seasoning and more.

Steps to Make Homemade Pigs in a Blanket

This recipe includes homemade crescent dough. If you use store-bought crescent dough, you can skip the process of making the dough.

1. Prep the yeast: Whisk the water, milk, yeast and sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer or large bowl. Let it sit for 10 minutes or until it starts to puff up.
2. Make the dough: Whisk in the butter and salt, then gradually stir in the flour 1/2 cup at a time, stirring the entire time until it comes together. It will still be slightly tacky when touched. (Do not add too much flour or the dough will turn out hard and heavy.)
3. Knead the dough: Continue kneading for 5 to 8 minutes if using a stand mixer or knead by hand for 8 to 10 minutes or until the dough is very elastic and pulls away from the bowl or countertop.
4. Let the dough rise: Cover with a towel and let the dough rise for 1 hour in a warm place or until it has doubled in size.
5. Prepare the little smokies: In the meantime, dry the smokies well with a paper towel in the fridge to dry out while the bread rises. Let them sit on a plate or baking pan lined with a paper towel in the fridge to dry out while the bread rises.

6. Roll the dough: Once the dough is ready, roll the dough out onto a lightly floured countertop in a large rectangle that’s about 8 inches long by 6 inches wide and less than 1/2 inch thick.
7. Make the pigs in a blanket: Use a knife or a pizza cutter to cut 32-34 equal rectangles from the dough then roll each little smokie in a rectangle of dough making sure to pinch the seam together.
8. Allow them to rest: Place them on a 12×16-inch baking sheet fitted with parchment paper with the seam-side facing down, cover with a towel and let them rest for another 15 minutes.
9. Prepare the egg wash: In the meantime, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and whisk the egg and water together in a small bowl.
10. Bake: Brush the egg wash onto the dough then bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until light and golden brown on top and around the edges.
11. Let them cool for 5 minutes before serving with freshly minced parsley for garnish, if desired.

Recipe Tips

• Add Everything Bagel Seasoning: To elevate the flavor of these pigs in a blanket, sprinkle everything bagel seasoning on top of the rolls just before baking.
• Substitute hot dogs for another type of sausage: You can use any other type of precooked sausage for different flavors. Chicken sausage or andouille sausage works great.
• Add cheese! Sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese, pepper jack cheese or american cheese inside the roll before rolling up. This creates little cheese dogs.
• Serve the pigs in a blanket with dipping sauce like grainy mustard, honey mustard, ketchup, bbq sauce or ranch dressing.
• Prep ahead of time – You can prep the pigs in a blanket up to 12 hours in advance and store in the refrigerator to be quickly baked later on. When you’re ready to bake, remove them from the fridge and bake.

Lil’ smokies are a classic party appetizer to serve at your next holiday party or game day gathering. Serve them with a few of our other favorite party appetizers to create a delicious feast.

Other Party Appetizers

• Cheeseburger Egg Rolls
• Baked Oysters
• Mini Corn Dogs
• Baked Mango Habanero Chicken Wings
• Ham and Cheese Pinwheels
• Baked Mussels
• Steak Nachos
• Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus

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