It’s just not a Fourth of July cook-out without hot dogs, a grilled food as all-American as apple pie. So if you’re planning a barbecue, all you need to do is grab a package and grill them up, right? Well, you could, but you could also make them even more fun and festive for the Fourth. How? By turning them into edible sparklers! They’re extra-tasty and add a touch of flash and flare to your table that’ll have everybody looking forward to fireworks even more than usual. Check them out and give them a try!
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HOT DOG SPARKLERS
Makes 8 skewers
INGREDIENTS
- 8 hot dogs
- 8 wooden skewers
- ½ roll refrigerated pizza dough
- 2-inch star cookie cutter
- 8 thick slices Colby cheese
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius).
- With a sharp paring knife or pair of kitchen shears, cut 6 to 8 slits in each hot dog – about 1 inch from the top each hot dog – to resemble the ends of a spent sparkler.
- Thread the wooden skewers through the non-cut end of the hot dog, leaving about an inch of space between the top of the hot dog and the point of the skewer. This space is for the cheese stars later!
- Using a knife or pizza cutter, cut thin strips of the pizza dough. Wrap one around each hot dog, starting from the bottom of the regular end until you reach the edges of the cut end. Pinch the dough to seal it closed around the hot dog.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until the pizza dough is golden brown.
- Using the cookie cutter, cut the Colby cheese slices into stars.
- Once the baked hot dogs have cooled slightly, stick the points of the skewers through the middle of the stars.
TIPs
- Need a bunch of sparklers for a party? Simply use the entire roll of pizza dough and up the yield to 16 hot dog skewers!
- Want to make these skewers really look like a bucket of sparklers? Put some Styrofoam pieces in the bottom of a metal ice bucket and cover with decorative paper strips. Stick the skewers into the Styrofoam to keep them standing up straight.
Recipe adapted from Handmade In The Heartland