Recipes to Rival: Pigs in a Blanket

I'm late, I'm late!  My apologies to my fellow Recipes to Rival members for not posting on time.  I had planned on making the December challenge on New Year's Eve since they were appetizers.  Unfortunately, a few days before my sinuses decided it was the perfect time to start doing what they do best....make me sick while on vacation.  While I probably could have made the pigs in a blanket appetizer like I planned, I just plain felt yucky and couldn't do it (I'm sure everyone I was with was probably grateful too!).  I'm still not 100% but I really wanted to get these made before my vacation is over.

We were given 3 options for our appetizers and only had to choose one if we wanted.  I decided to go with the mini pigs in a blanket because they are a staple at nearly every family gathering and I love them.  Normally we just roll the little smokies in the canned crescent rolls (come on...who doesn't love the crescent rolls?!).  For Recipes to Rival, we had to make a biscuit dough from scratch.  It looked like a fairly simple and quick dough to put together.  Instead of the traditional beef little smokies, I went with a turkey version.

Like I anticipated, the biscuit dough came together in no time.  I had to add a little more flour because it was incredibly sticky.

I then rolled the dough out to about the thickness of the canned crescent rolls.  Because it was just me at home now, I made only a quarter recipe of the dough.

That was enough to do about one package of the little smokies.  For the few little smokies I had leftover, I rolled in half a slice a bacon and then rolled them in brown sugar.  Bake them until the bacon is crispy. soooo good!

They baked up in about the same time as the other version.  Dipped in mustard, they were quite delicious.  The biscuit was slightly crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.  The turkey smokies weren't as flavorful as the beef but for the amount of fat I saved, I was happy I used them.  Would I make the pigs in a blanket like these every time?  Probably not.  I have a soft spot in my stomach for the crescent roll version and as fast as these were, the other is even faster.  But these were very good and worth the effort of making the dough from scratch.  If I was to make then again, they probably would be even better with a little parmesan sprinkled on top.

For more of the appetizers we were given, check out the Recipes to Rival blogroll here!

Mini Pigs in a Blanket

Bride's Biscuits

adapted from Southern Sideboard, by the Junior League of Jackson Mississippi, 1978
*note- this is a large recipe purposelly so you can use it as needed. If you are not big on biscuits or anything made with biscuits you can reduce the amounts.

5 cups flour
5 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup shortening
2 cups buttermilk
1 package dry yeast or 2 1/4 teaspoons
5 tablespoons warm water
mini hot dogs, aka cocktail weiners (I used 1 package for a 1/4 recipe of dough)

Sift dry ingredients, then cut in shortening. Add buttermilk. Dissolve yeast in warm water and add to mixture. Knead lightly. Cut squares and wrap hot dog at a diagonal. Place on greased cookie sheet and bake at 450F about 10 to 12 minutes. Store dough in refrigerator, pinching off as much as needed each time. It can also be frozen.