As a kid, I loved corn dogs! I think most kids do. I haven’t had one in years and I think you can guess why! First, most hot dogs are loaded with fat and corn dogs are made by frying in about 2 quarts of oil!  Happily, not my mini baked ones!!! These guilt-free mini’s are made using 97% fat-free all beef dogs and the corn dogs are baked. The skinny for 1 mini corn dog bite, 79 calories, 1 gram of fat and 2 Weight Watchers POINTS PLUS.  These are so fun to serve and everybody loves them!!!

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1⅛ cups buttermilk

2 eggs, I like using Egg-land Best eggs, see healthy benefit

2 tablespoons pickle relish

2 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard or spicy brown mustard

2 dashes Tabasco sauce

1¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 cup cornmeal

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 (1 lb.) pkg. Hebrew National 97% fat-free all-beef hot dogs, see shopping tip

Cooking spray, I like using olive oil spray

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a baking pan with cooking spray.

2. Combine buttermilk, eggs, relish, mustard and Tabasco in a bowl.

3. In a large bowl, using a whisk, mix together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Stir buttermilk mixture into cornmeal mixture to combine; let stand 3 minutes. (The mixture will be thick.) Using a whisk again, whisk mixture until smooth; transfer to a tall measuring cup.

4. Cut each hot dog into three pieces crosswise. Dip dogs into batter, coating entirely. It gets a little messy but just make sure they are all fully coated. You might need to use your finger to smear the batter around. It doesn’t matter if they don’t look perfectly shaped. Mine don’t but still taste great.

5. Place corn dogs on baking pan. Spray the corn dogs with cooking spray.

6. Bake for 15 minutes on 1 side, turn over, coat again with cooking spray and bake an additional 10-15 minutes.

7. Place a toothpick in each. Serve at once with ketchup and mustard on the side.

Makes 21 mini corn dog bites

Food Facts

A corn dog is a hot dog or Frankfurter with a thick layer of cornbread coating and deep fried. Almost all corn dogs are served on a wooden stick.
There is some debate as to the exact origins of the corn dog; they appeared in some ways in the US by the 1920s, and were popularized nationally in the 1940s.

Healthy Benefit
Egg-Land Best eggs are better for you than regular eggs. They contain more vitamin E, 100 mg of Omega 3 and 25% less saturated fat than regular eggs. You’ll find them in most supermarkets.

Shopping Tip
Most supermarkets sell Hebrew National 97% fat-free all-beef hot dogs. You’ll find them in the refrigerated aisle where other hot dogs are displayed. They are quite tasty at 40 calories and 1 gram of fat each. Even better tasting when coated with the cornbread batter. I bought mine at Trader Joe’s.

Prep Tip

A tall measuring cup or large glass allows you to easily coat each hot dog in batter. It’s the perfect vessel for dunking.

Weight Watchers (old points) 1

Weight Watchers POINTS PLUS 2