Why isn’t my page covered in some kind of red white and blue dessert or drink right now? Why the lack of patriotic colors, you ask? Cause I know, napkins don’t count.
Well, truthfully, my mind just kept drawing a blank when it came to tri-colored goodies to celebrate today. Sure, I thought of some yummy sounding drinks and some berry desserts that would be the perfect colors.
I just wasn’t excited about them!
But I have been plotting these baked corn dogs for awhile, and thought that corn dogs are such an American food (maybe not healthy baked vegan corn dogs, but oh well), that has to be something to celebrate with on the Fourth!
So it’s corn dog time.
Healthy. Vegan. Baked. Corn dogs.
With a smoky chilli flavored cornbread.
I think that’s worthy of a celebration.
yields 4 corn dogs
1/2 C fine cornmeal
1/4 C whole wheat pastry flour, plus 2 T for coating the dogs
1 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1 t cumin
1 t chilli powder (not spicy – unless you want it that way!)
1/4 t smoked paprika
1/2 t salt* (smoked salt if you want an extra smoky flavor)
1/4 C + 2 T soy milk
4 vegan hot dogs of choice
*the added salt does make this a little higher in sodium than I normally aim for, but this is a time when I definitely recommend it. It makes a big difference. Just watch the rest of your salt intake the same day.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a baking sheet lightly with cooking spray and set aside.
Sift all dry ingredients except the extra 2 T flour together, and add soy milk. Coat the dogs in the 2 T flour, shaking off the excess. Then roll in the cornmeal mixture until very well coated, and lay on baking sheet.
Bake for about 10-12 minutes until lightly browned and just a little soft to the touch. Let cool on a cooling rack, then insert popsicle sticks. I was scared to put them in the oven, and it works just fine afterward.
(Sidenote – I just learned something that sounds pretty obvious, but had never occurred to me before: you have to buy food-grade popsicle sticks. The ones you get at a craft store are not safe for food purposes!)
Alright, that sounded pretty easy, eh? Here’s the catch:
You’re never going to get perfectly smooth and wonderful corn dogs when you bake them. The reason they look perfect elsewhere is because they’re deep fried as soon as they’re dipped in batter, so the batter doesn’t go anywhere.
When you bake them, the batter will slowly slide off the dogs a bit and flatten out onto the baking sheet. But the key to keeping this to a minimum is making sure you have the perfect consistency to your batter. I did a few tests on this, and decided the best way to check the batter consistency is to do the next two things with your first dog before you make them all:
1. Coat the dog in batter. The batter shouldn’t be so lumpy that you have to spread it onto the dog. If it is, add a little more soy milk cause otherwise it’ll just be gross and will flake off the dog once it’s baked.
2. If the batter looks like it’s coating the dog pretty well and evenly, lay it on a plate. If you have to ever so slightly smooth the batter out, but it complies well, you’re probably good to go. Watch it just for about one or two minutes and make sure that not very much of the batter slides off the sides. Once it does that, you’ve reached the perfect consistency!
Happy Birthday, America!
Just look at these Nutrition facts per corn dog (using Smart Dog Veggie Protein Links): Calories: 134; Calories from Fat: 10; Total Fat: 1.1g; Sodium: 776mg; Total Carbohydrates: 18.9g; Dietary Fiber: 4.0g; Sugars: 2.0g; Protein: 10.6g
I also made myself a little studio box to help capture the natural light for better photographs, so hopefully those will be stepping up a little! But shooting food on the ground sure was fascinating to my kitty . . . I’ll try to keep cat hair away from the food. 🙂
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