Puff Pastry Pigs In A Blanket – An Easy Appetizer Recipe

When it comes to delicious, easy to make and easy to eat appetizers, Puff Pastry Pigs In A Blanket is one of my favorites. Little sausages or mini hot dog pieces wrapped in puff pastry and baked until it becomes light and fluffy.

It is a classic take on the crescent roll version of the same recipe. As much as I like to use crescent rolls to wrap around the mini sausages, I love the taste of the puff pastry even better.

Crescent rolls are great to use, but are much thicker than the pastry dough. Puff pastry dough bakes up light and flaky which is a great thing when you are making multiple appetizers to share.

This way you aren’t too full to indulge in Buffalo Chicken Dip, Pickle Roll Ups or Stuffed Mushrooms at your next gathering or game day party. Instead, you will feel great enough to partake in a little of everything!

But what I really like about this easy party appetizer is that they are very easy to prepare. All that is required is that you cut thawed puff pastry dough into squares.

Then wrap each square around mini sausages and put them in the oven to bake. In under 30 minutes you will have an easy hand held appetizer that everyone can enjoy.

Serve them warm or at room temperature with your favorite dipping sauce. Ketchup, Honey Mustard or Barbecue sauce are some of the crowd favorites!

What Is Puff Pastry?

So what exactly is puffed pastry? The light and flaky dough is made by alternating layers of butter or shortening with a simple homemade dough. 

The dough itself is made with only butter, salt, water, and flour. Despite at how well it rises during the baking process there is no yeast added to the dough.

Although it sounds like it would be easy to make, it is a very tedious process. Butter is placed in the center of dough and it is rolled and folded over hundreds of times.

Making homemade puff pastry is a very time-consuming process and one which you would probably not complete to make pigs in a blanket. Instead, most of us will opt to use store-bought frozen pastry sheets instead.

You can find boxes of frozen pastry dough in the dessert freezer section at most grocery stores. These sheets are used to make turnovers, pinwheels, Chicken Pot Pie and Beef Wellington.

When the pastry cooks in the oven, the liquid in both the butter and dough evaporates, causing the layers to puff up significantly. The dough turns golden brown and has a light and crispy texture.

And this is exactly why that it is the perfect wrap when making this delicious appetizer.

Mini Sausages vs. Hot Dogs

Although traditional Puff Pastry Pigs In A Blanket are made with sections of hot dogs wrapped in dough, you can actually make it with mini sausages as well.

Commonly known as Lil’ Smokies, cocktail sausages are commonly available in the processed meat section at most supermarkets. They are widely available during the holidays as many people like to make Barbecue Little Red Smokies as an appetizer.

However, if you can’t find the mini sausages you can substitute cocktail size wieners. These miniature hot dogs are made from pork or beef, or a combination of the two.

They also are easily found around the holidays as they also are most often used to make various hors d’oeuvres. And if neither can be found, feel free to cut up standard hot dogs into 2 inch pieces.

Although they don’t look as impressive, they still make for a delicious appetizer.

How To Season Puff Pastry Pigs In A Blanket

When it comes to what type of seasoning to use to flavor this simple appetizer, the choice is up to you. Some people choose not to add any seasoning to the dough before it goes in the oven.

Instead, they let the dipping sauce become the star of the show. However, others like to sprinkle a little seasoning to the dough to make it extra tasty.

Some of the most common seasonings include a combination of sesame seeds, poppy seeds, garlic powder, salt and pepper. However, you can use whatever seasonings that you prefer.

Barbecue, Cajun, Chile Garlic, and other seasonings are hugely popular and can be used. However, the most popular seasoning to use is Everything Bagel seasoning.

The combination of spices takes this appetizer to the next level in regards to flavor.

Puff Pastry Pigs In A Blanket

*A printable recipe card is located at the bottom of this article which contains the specific measurements, temperatures and cook times. However, continue reading below to learn about more helpful tips about this specific recipe.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 sheet puff pastry (you will only use half)
• 7 ounces Lil Red Smokies or cocktail hot dogs
• 1 tablespoon everything bagel seasoning
• 1 egg

INSTRUCTIONS

In order to make pigs in a blanket using puff pastry dough you must first thaw a sheet of puff pastry overnight in the refrigerator. You will only need half of a sheet, therefore, if you can cut it in half and use the remaining dough for other recipes.

Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside.

On a floured surface, unfold the thawed puff pastry and use a rolling pin to roll the dough out just slightly larger than the original sheet. Cut the pastry in half and place one half back into the refrigerator for use in another recipe.

Cut the remaining half into 12 even size rectangles. Set aside. Rinse and pat dry the lil smokies. *If you are using hot dogs, cut each hot dog into 2 inch pieces.

Wrap each lil smokies sausage in the puff pastry rectangle. It will not cover the entire sausage.

Pinch the seam closed so that it doesn’t pop open during the baking process. Place each one, seam side down on the prepared baking sheet, leaving 1 inch space between each one. Set aside.

In a small bowl beat the egg with 1 teaspoon of water. Then use a pastry brush to brush the egg wash over each pastry.

Then sprinkle the top with everything bagel seasoning (optional).

Bake Time

Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the puff pastry is flaky and golden brown.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the pigs in a blanket cool for a few minutes. *If you aren’t serving them right away, transfer them to a cooling rack so the bottoms don’t become soggy.

Serve warm or at room temperature with your favorite dip!

Enjoy! Mary

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