Pigs in Blankets

My Mom always made pigs in blankets with the refrigerated crescent dough - you know, the kind that comes in the tube.  And it was good.  But I've been leaning toward more homemade foods, less packaged or processed ingredients whenever possible and I realized that any soft dough would probably work for "blankets." 

I searched a few sites and compared a few recipes and this is what I came up with after taking what I liked and leaving what I didn't from several recipes.

Pigs in Blankets
5 tsp dry yeast (this is equal to two packets, but I always buy yeast in bulk, so measurements work for me)
2 C very warm water
2 tsp salt
1/2 C sugar
1/4 C melted butter
1 beaten egg
6 1/2 - 7 C flour
16 hot dogs, cut in half to make 32 short tubes
shredded cheese - cheddar or a mix of whatever cheeses you like

Combine yeast and water, add sugar, salt and 1/2 C flour.  Beat for two minutes.  Add egg and melted butter, beat until smooth. 

Mix in flour, 1 C at a time (usually 5 - 6 C); knead until smooth.  This doesn't require a long knead, just enough to get that flour mixed in.

Set the dough in a large, greased bowl, cover with a clean towel and let rise in a warm place until double, about an hour.

Punch dough down and divide in half.  Put one half back in the bowl, put the towel back on and let it rest while you work with the other half.  Roll the half you're using out into a large circle.  Using a pizza cutter (I'm sure a knife would work just as well, but I love my pizza cutter and use it whenever possible), cut the dough into 16 even triangles, leaving them in place. 

Sprinkle cheese along just the outside edge of the circle.  Place one hot dog half on each triangle, on the wide end and roll up.  Place them on a greased cookie sheet, leaving plenty of room between - they will grow quite a bit.

Repeat until you've used the entire circle, then do the whole thing again with the other ball of dough.

Let them rise for another 30-45 minutes or until puffy.  Preheat the oven near the end of the rise time - 400 degrees. 

Bake for about 12 minutes, or until golden and lovely.

Remove to a wire rack to cool or eat immediately.  These can be frozen for up to three months (reheat in the microwave or oven) or will keep in the fridge for a couple of days. 

My Recipe Notes:
I found this dough super easy to work with - it was nice and soft, very smooth and not overly sticky. 
The 1/2 hot dog size was great for the kids, but I think it would work just as well with whole dogs, simply make only 8 triangles and bake a few extra minutes.
I'm going to try a variation of this recipe with bagel dough, too because it sounds delightful.