Make Corn Dogs In Record Time With This Store-Bought Pancake Mix Hack

Corn dogs may have gotten their start as a festival food, but many of us are probably acquainted with the kind you pull from the freezer and microwave. The store-bought dogs just don't have the same je ne sais quoi as the freshly deep-fried variety with all its toppings. Thankfully, they aren't too difficult to whip up at home with the right ingredients.

To make homemade corn dogs that can satisfy your sweet and salty cravings, you can integrate pancake mix into the batter. Corn dogs are made with cornmeal, which gives them that crisp and fluffy shell. The meat inside is seasoned beef or pork sausage. Adding pancake mix to the batter balances the thick, savory elements with its soft doughiness. 

If you're using a boxed pancake mix, you can follow the instructions for the batter on the back, which usually calls for ¾ cup of water to 1 cup of dry mix. All you need to add is one part of cornmeal to two parts of pancake mix (½ cup in this instance). Dip the sausage in the batter with a bamboo skewer and deep fry in a high-smoke-point oil until the batter forms a nice golden brown exterior. The result is a comfort food you can enjoy for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

While making corn dogs with boxed pancake mix is a lot quicker, it's not required. Pancake mix is one of those grocery items that's really easy to make at home. You can ditch store-bought pancakes by combining flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder, so there's no need to go out of your way. It's more beneficial to grab a boxed pancake mix if it's offering something extra. The Kodiak Power Cakes are packed with 14 grams of protein per serving, and they're made with brown sugar, whole grains, and whey protein. Other brands like King Arthur have gluten-free and keto options.

You can also level up pancake corn dogs by using a flavored pancake variety like cinnamon or almond — using blueberry pancake mix with sausage works as a dupe for the QuikTrip blueberry pancake roller. The type of protein used for the corn dogs doesn't matter, as long as it has the consistency of a hot dog frank. Not everyone is a pork or beef person, and there are some pretty tasty poultry and veggie options out there. With a little bit of sausage, pancake mix, and some syrup to drizzle on top, you'll have a filling breakfast to start the day.