Veggie Corn Dogs (gluten-free friendly)

My kids love to eat corn dogs. I love the ease of corn dogs: pop a frozen dog in the microwave, squeeze out some ketchup and there's lunch. A traditional corn dog is full of preservatives, fat, and chemicals. Not what I want to fill a toddler with!

Several months ago I made the vegan corn dogs on Vegan Dad's site. Vegan Dad is my go-to site when I want a meal, dessert, or bread that would most likely have animal products. Easy vegan food to sneak into a meat eater.

  I was in a hurry the first time I made these corn dogs and didn't follow his directions for letting the dough rest several times throughout the recipe, but the result was passable. This time, I followed all of his 'let rest for 5 minutes' recommendations while making the batter and it was well worth the additional time. After all, it is just waiting, not actual working time.

My challenge this time was to find a veggie dog that our resident carnivore would approve of. We typically use Smart Dogs by Lightlife. The ingredients are not chemicals and they only have 45 calories and 310 grams of sodium (low for a hot dog). But... they look like erasers and taste like smokey erasers. Not convincing to my carnivore. This time we tried Yves Tofu Dogs. They have a few ingredients I can't pronounce, 45 calories, and 300 grams of sodium. BUT... they won the taste test!

So, as far as fast food goes, I think we've found a winner. Not something I want to feed my kids every day, but a fantastic alternative to a traditional dog! Take a look at these labels:

Look at all that fat. Gross, right?                     8 grams of protein and zero cholesterol!

My second challenge for this menu was to make these corn dogs gluten-free. Super limiting in the veggie dog selection! We were back to the more eraser-like dog with Tofu Pups from Lightlife. Not the favorite amongst my taste testers, but  considered "good when wrapped up and dipped in lots of ketchup". My recommendation is to stick with the Yves unless you need gluten-free. Chances are your kiddos won't know the difference.

To make my GF Veggie Corn Dogs, I followed Vegan Dad's recipe but switched out the all-purpose flour for Pamela's Gluten Free Baking Mix. This was simple, except I nearly doubled the amount of flour during mixing. The dough was so sticky, I had to keep adding a tablespoon of flour at a time. Finally, after about a cup and a half of additional flour, I had a dough that didn't stick to the sides of my mixer.

I found it was easier to roll dough around the dog after the stick was in place. I had to keep my mat and rolling pin well-floured to keep my dough from sticking. Also, be sure to cover the dough that you're not using so it doesn't dry out. That's a juicy looking dog, right?

                       

I was able to cover 32 veggie dog halves. We ate a bunch, shared a bunch, and froze the rest. This recipe is well worth the time and later, when you pop a dog in the microwave, you'll know you're not serving grease and chemicals.

Head on over to Vegan Dad for the recipe. Just remember, if you choose to go gluten-free, you will need lots more flour than the 1.5 cups he suggests.
Enjoy!