Kids’ Mini Beef Franks in a Blanket
+ Snack: Caramel Apple Dippers
Franks in a blanket are perfectly portable and great fuel for kiddos at home, school, and beyond! You’ll roll up mini beef franks in premade pizza dough and bake to golden perfection. Serve them with orange slices, cucumber wheels, and ketchup for dipping. Snacktime always sneaks up on us so we’ve included all the fixins for irresistible caramel apple dippers! You’ll whisk together butter, brown sugar, and maple syrup and after a quick spin in the microwave—voilà!—homemade caramel! Mix in a dollop of crème fraîche and a pinch of salt, serve with juicy sliced apples, then watch them disappear (or stash in the fridge to serve later). Yup, we’re thinking outside the lunchbox!
This recipe is designed to provide lunch and snack components for multiple days. For each lunch and snack meal, 3 servings and 6 servings are provided for a 2 person and 4 person box respectively. Nutrition information under the Nutrition Values section below is for the lunch portion. The following nutrition information is for 1 serving of the snack meal: Calories 260, Total Fat 14 g, Sat. Fat 9 g, Chol 40 mg, Sodium 15 mg, Total Carb 33 g, Fiber 3 g, Sugar 30 g, Added Sugar 18g, Protein 1 g. Download the nutrition labels to see final nutrition information for both lunch and snack components.
Produced in a facility that processes eggs, milk, fish, peanuts, sesame, shellfish, soy, tree nuts, and wheat.
Ingredients
1 unit
Orange
1 unit
Mini Cucumber
10 ounce
All-Natural Beef Hot Dogs
12 ounce
Buttermilk Biscuits
(Contains Wheat)
3 unit
Ketchup
2 unit
Apples
1 tablespoon
Brown Sugar
2 tablespoon
Maple Syrup
2 tablespoon
Crème Fraîche
(Contains Milk)
Not included in your delivery
Salt
2 teaspoon
Cooking Oil
1.5 tablespoon
Sugar
3 tablespoon
Butter
(Contains Milk)
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Instructions
• Adjust rack to top position (top and middle positions for 6 servings) and preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash and dry produce. • Halve orange; slice crosswise into ½-inch-thick half-moons. Trim and thinly slice cucumber into rounds. • Cut each hot dog* into three pieces, making 18 pieces total (36 pieces for 6).
• Remove biscuits from package. Halve each biscuit, making 20 half-moons (40 for 6 servings). • Lightly oil a baking sheet (two baking sheets for 6). • Using a rolling pin, thinly roll out one biscuit half into a 4-inch-long piece. • With short end of dough facing toward you, place a hot dog piece on side closest to you. Roll hot dog up in dough and pinch seam to seal (ends will be open). Transfer to prepared baking sheet, seam side down. • Repeat with remaining hot dog pieces and enough remaining dough to make 18 franks in a blanket (36 franks in a blanket for 6). TIP: You’ll have extra dough left over—feel free to bake separately as a biscuit snack!
• Brush tops of franks in a blanket with oil (or coat with nonstick cooking spray). • Bake on top rack (top and middle racks for 6 servings) until franks in a blanket are lightly browned and hot dogs are warmed through, 15-18 minutes.
• To serve: Divide franks in a blanket between plates and serve with orange slices, cucumber rounds, and ketchup for dipping. • To stash: Let franks in a blanket cool completely. Store everything in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator and pack as desired!
• Halve, core, and thinly slice apples. • Dice 3 TBSP butter (6 TBSP for 6 servings) into ¾-inch pieces. Place in a medium microwave-safe bowl (large bowl for 6) and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave until melted, about 1 minute. • Carefully uncover and whisk in brown sugar (break up any large clumps in the package first!), maple syrup, and 1½ TBSP white sugar (3 TBSP for 6) until sugar is dissolved, about 30 seconds.
• Cover bowl of caramel sauce with plastic wrap. Microwave until mixture begins to bubble, 90 seconds. Carefully uncover and whisk for 30 seconds (mixture will be hot!). • Microwave, uncovered, until mixture is bubbly throughout, 30 seconds more (keep an eye on the bowl—microwave temperatures vary). Carefully whisk for 30 seconds more. • Add crème fraîche to bowl with caramel sauce and whisk until combined. Lightly season with salt, then stir. • Let creamy caramel cool slightly (mixture will thicken as it cools), then serve with apple slices for dipping.