Kids’ Mini Beef Franks in a Blanket
+ Snack: Caramel Apple Dippers
- Wheat
- Milk
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.
Ingredients
12 ounce
Buttermilk Biscuits
(Contains: Wheat)
2 tablespoon
Crème Fraîche
(Contains: Milk)
10 ounce
All-Natural Beef Hot Dogs
1 unit
Mini Cucumber
3 unit
Ketchup
2 unit
Apple
2 tablespoon
Maple Syrup
1 unit
Orange
1 tablespoon
Brown Sugar
Not included in your delivery
1.5 teaspoon (tsp)
Sugar
1.5 tablespoon (tbsp)
Sugar
3 tablespoon (tbsp)
Butter
(Contains: Milk)
2 teaspoon (tsp)
Cooking Oil
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• 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.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Many enjoyed the caramel sauce, calling it delicious and better than store-bought. Some found the hot dogs had an unusual taste.
- Ease of prep: Quick and easy to prepare, though the caramel sauce required multiple steps. Great for involving kids in cooking tasks.
- Suggestions: Consider seasoning the franks in a blanket for more flavor. Make the caramel sauce just before serving for best consistency.
- Portions: Generous portions provided multiple snacks, with plenty of ingredients for meal prep throughout the week.
- Kid-friendly: Picky eaters generally enjoyed this meal, especially the caramel apple dippers. A good balance of food groups for children.
Reviews from our home cooks
The mini Franks in a blanket were a good snack but I have to tell you that the apples the caramel apple dippers we can't tell you how delicious they were. We didn't even wait for the caramel to thicken we dipped it in thinner caramel topping while it was warm, and we couldn't stop! Without a doubt this is on the love list!
A little fussier than some of the other kid lunches. Good for involving the kiddo though - cutting wieners is a good kid task. Need more cukes! Each serving should get one of those little cukes.
There was a lot more than I expected for this add on. The caramel sauce is wonderful, better than anything I've bought at a store. Def a win with my picky son
Best kid lunch and meal prep for the week! Loved it! Meal prep is longer than 5 minutes but still great!
Perfect for my picky kids. Good balance of food groups. The brown sugar was a rock though, I used my own.
Liked the portion size and ease of recipe but I feel like the hot dog/biscuit could've used a little more flavor or seasoning somewhere it was a little plain.
Kids loved this! The homemade caramel sauce is a keeper!
This could have been better if I hadn't cut the apples until after I had started the caramel. Other than that, a pretty interesting meal.
Hard to make the dip. Wish they would have sent the dip premade. Too runny
Was helpful to have all these items at my fingertips for various snacking but we did not use the caramel and my kids did not like the pigs in a blanket. We are the apples, cucumbers and oranges so not a total loss.
