Corn Dogs - A Piece of Americana

This recipe came from an August newsletter we got when we moved into our apartments. It is the only newsletter we've ever gotten from them, but it is a treasure! It had this corn dog recipe in it, and I thought "Hey, why not give it a try? Home-made corn dogs? Who knew?" And they are DELISH! So easy to make, too! Matt said they are his favorite corn dogs, and I know my family has also had them. So, some night when you're not on a health kick and want to have a little fun in the kitchen -- be a kid again and make some corn dogs! (I don't reccomend little helpers though as it involves frying! They can be kids as they EAT the yummies!)

2/3 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
2 Tbs sugar
1 ½ tsp baking powder
¾ cup milk
1 egg, beaten
1 pkg hot dogs, patted dry
8 (6”) wooden skewers (optional)
1 cup or more vegetable oil

1) Add oil to 2” depth in large skillet; heat to 350 (med-high heat).

2) Combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, and baking powder in medium bowl. Combine milk and egg in small bowl. Add to flour mixture; mix until blended (batter will be thick). Spread batter into shallow plate or dish. Insert skewers into hot dogs.

3) Dip hot dogs into batter, coating all sides. Add 3 to 4 hot dogs to hot oil, turning after 5-10 seconds to set batter. Fry, turning occasionally, until golden brown; drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining hot dogs. Enjoy!

Notes:
~Using a shallow dish makes it much easier to coat the hot dogs in the batter.
~You must pat the hot dogs dry (with paper towels) so the batter won't slide off easily.
~I've never used skewers, mainly because I can't find short ones. I just use a combination of fork and tongs for frying and getting them into/out of the skillet. I guess I could buy some long skewers and cut them in half. Hmm.