These pigs in a blanket brown instead of steaming when I pat the cocktail sausages dry before the dough goes on. Packing liquid soaks crescent dough from the inside, and the bottoms stay pale even after 15 minutes at 375°F (190°C). I set the tray next to baked jalapeno poppers and a pan of buffalo chicken dip when the rest of the spread is already in the oven.
Ingredients
- 1 (8 oz / 226 g) can refrigerated crescent roll dough
- 1 (12 to 14 oz / 340 to 400 g) package cocktail smoked sausages (about 24)
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon water
- 1 teaspoon everything bagel seasoning or coarse salt
Instructions
- Heat the oven and dry the sausages: Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Drain the cocktail sausages and pat each one dry with paper towels until the skins look matte, not shiny. If they still feel wet, the dough will steam from the inside and the bottoms stay pale.
- Cut the crescent dough: Unroll the crescent dough on a lightly floured counter and separate it along the perforations into 8 triangles. Cut each triangle lengthwise into 3 skinny triangles so you have 24 strips. Work while the dough is still cold; warm dough stretches thin, tears, and won’t puff.
- Wrap seam-side down: Set one sausage across the wide end of a strip and roll toward the point so the dough overlaps itself. Place it on the parchment with the point and the seam underneath, leaving about 1 inch (2.5 cm) between pieces. If the seam sits on top, it peels open in the oven.
- Egg wash and bake: Beat the egg with the water and brush a thin coat on the tops and sides of the dough, not on the parchment. Sprinkle with everything bagel seasoning or coarse salt. Bake 13 to 15 minutes, until the wraps are puffed, deep gold at the edges, and the bottoms look baked instead of doughy, then serve warm.
If you change the dough or the sausage
- Quartered hot dogs work on the same skinny strips. A whole hot dog needs more dough than one triangle gives, so the blanket overbrowns before the center is hot.
- Tuck a thin strip of cheddar under the dough before you roll. Cheese sprinkled on top slides off; cheese inside melts against the sausage.
- Puff pastry looks taller, but the extra layers stay pale against sausage fat unless you roll it thinner than the box says. Crescent dough is already that thin out of the can.
- An air fryer works if they sit in a single layer. They’re done at the same deep gold as the oven batch; crowding the basket steams the dough the same way a packed sheet pan does.
Storage
Cool leftovers and refrigerate in an airtight container within 2 hours. They keep about 3 days in the fridge. Reheat on a parchment-lined sheet at 350°F (175°C) for 10 to 12 minutes, until the dough is hot and the bottoms crisp again. Freeze them baked, in a single layer, for up to 1 month, then reheat from frozen at 325°F (165°C) for 14 to 16 minutes, loosely covered with foil. Don’t microwave them; the dough turns rubbery. USDA leftovers and food safety covers the 2-hour cooling window and the 165°F (74°C) leftover reheat target.
FAQ
Can I use hot dogs instead of cocktail sausages?
Cut regular hot dogs into quarters and wrap each piece in one skinny crescent strip, same as the cocktail sausages, after you pat them dry. Skip extra-thick dogs; they take longer than the dough, and the blanket overbrowns.
Can I make pigs in a blanket ahead of time?
Wrap them, set them seam-side down on the parchment, cover the sheet tightly, and refrigerate up to 2 hours before baking. Longer than that, the dough picks up moisture from the sausages and bakes pale. For a longer hold, bake them, cool, and freeze as in the storage note.
Can I cook pigs in a blanket in the air fryer?
Cook them in a single layer so hot air can reach the dough. They’re done when the wrap is deep gold and the bottoms look baked, not pale. Don’t stack them; crowding steams the dough the same way a packed sheet pan does.
