You might remember a bit ago Gannon, my grandson, and I were thrifting and picked up this Pretzel Dog Maker for $1.50. Gannon loves soft pretzels and loves corn dogs so I decided to give it a try.
I opened it up and… it was new in the box. All of the protective packaging was still on it. I didn’t realize that as the outside of the box was a little beat up.
It seemed like a waffle maker. In fact, someday I think I am going to try waffle batter in it.
The recipe was included in the box along with the directions.
I made a simple dough…
It used half hotdogs so I cut them in half. The instructions said to cut two pieces of dough that were 1 x 3 1/2″ for each pretzel dog but I quickly learned it was easier for cut a strip and then roll the hotdog in the dough.
Then cut the dough off.
From there they were dipped in a water/baking soda mixture.
I put them in a heated, spot that had been sprayed with cooking spray.
They came out looking like this…
There was a learning curve to it all but by the time I was finished, I felt comfortable…and they looked pretty good. Rosie, my beagle, even thought they looked good.
So what did we all think? Surprisingly, it wasn’t just the grandkids that liked them. We, adults, liked them too. HA! Who would have thought?
I made a double batch and ended up with extra dough so I put some cheese on the inside instead of hotdogs. That was really good too!!
There are four other recipe variations that I plan to try at some point. Now that I have the learning curve down, I’m excited to try again. On a side note: I ended up making more than we could eat. They warmed up wonderfully in the air fryer. That’s encouraging as I could purposely make a big batch and then have them to warm up.
It was something fun to do with the grandkids. If you have some between five and fourteen, I think they might have fun with this.
I know I have people that will ask so I looked on Amazon to see if these were still available. The box on mine looked old so I didn’t know if it would be. After all, I don’t know if the pretzel dog makers were likely a hot-selling item. I ended up finding this one…it looks exactly like mine only the color is upgraded.
You can find it HERE.
I didn’t include the sticks. Gannon always pulls the stick out when he eats corndogs anyway.
So that’s what we were up to at my house…Pretzel Dogs…Who knew??
I’m thinking cooked sausage links in waffle batter sounds yummy
the cheesey ones would be my favorite. pepperjack comes to mind.
Pepperjackmcheese sounds wonderful to me too
I think it would be good to try some maple flavored links wrapped in the waffle dough with a “dipping sauce” of maple syrup!! For breakfast??
How fun! Yes waffle dough around sausage sounds fantastic for breakfast too! At our thrift shop I found a brand new pasta maker also still in plastic for $6. It mixes the dough and everything and has about 10 different pasta type options. It’s fun to play with too and fresh pasta tastes so goo :-)
I must have a corn dog if I attend a fair, they are just the best and a remembrance of my childhood. I hope Gannon and the other grandkids like them . What fun.
Ok, I’m a bit mystified – what’s a corn dog? Pardon my ignorance, we don’t have this kind of thing in Australia..
Kathy,
You are not ignorant, just not familiar with some of our funny American foods. :)
A corn dog (also spelled corndog) is a sausage (usually a hot dog) on a stick that has been coated in a thick layer of cornmeal batter and deep fried. It originated in the United States. Usually found at county fairs.
Thanks Michelle, I too, didn’t know what a corn dog was!
Thanks Michelle, nice to find out some customs in other countries
I recently bought a Twinkie cake pan and made them with my grandchildren. It was a hoot. Even if I never use it again, the memories are worth it. Love this.
Sounds really neat. I like the idea of leftovers- but I’ve never had a corndog either. My parents were European so the food we ate was very different. My granddaughters love them – they buy them frozen. This sounds like a great Christmas present for them.
Wow what a bargain for $1.50, just for the memories alone and then it works and everyone ikes them, even better.
Boy I wished my fathers mother was like you, instead of remaining in strict teacher mode who only loved languages! Thankfully my Scottish granny was the best , like you always giving us time and encouragement. She made the best shortbread in the world.
I love it when you find a bargain like this at the thrift store! And what a deal!
We picked up a Mickey Mouse waffle maker last year for about the same price – still works too! The grands love it!
Love and prayers
You are so adventurous! It sounds like a fun thing to do with your grands and they look mighty good!
I’m too old to buy another gadget, but we buy bagel dogs at the grocery store (Nathan hotdogs and ByAnnie combined) for $8.99/plg of five. I’m sure yours were less expensive…but you had to do the work, too. My husband and I enjoy them. Many years ago, there was a cheese-on-the-stick place at the mall where we lived and we loved those, too! I think the grandkids will really enjoy this new gadget! You are such a wonderful Grandma!