Shortcut Homemade Korean Sausage Ppang (쏘세지빵)
Inspired by Korean corn cheese and pigs in a blanket, this popular Korean bakery treat leans on store-bought crescent rolls.
Any version of “in a blanket” has never disappointed me. Pigs in a blanket are one of my all-time favorite foods, and in college, I did own Snuggies in a few colorways. Crescent dough and Lil’ Smokies are the nostalgic combination that I grew up enjoying, but I found out one late night that you can teach an old (hot) dog new tricks.
I was re-watching a video of my friend Maangchi making Sausage Ppang (소세지빵), a Korean bakery staple made with a fluffy, slightly sweet yeasted dough. It has a hot dog wrapped inside and it’s cut to look like a flower or leaf. Toppings vary, but one of the most common is similar to Korean corn cheese with corn, onion, mayonnaise, mozzarella cheese, and green bell pepper or scallions. Everything melts together into what ends up becoming a pull-apart version of pigs in a blanket, great for an afternoon snack, party appetizer, or even a surprising school or al-desko lunch.
I showed the video to my best friend Carson, who was in town visiting from Nashville. I asked him, “Do you think we could make this with store-bought crescent dough instead of a homemade dough?” He had no idea, but we ran to the kitchen to try. After two rounds of testing, these pull-apart corn cheese pigs in a blanket were born—and immediately devoured.
Glazed and Confused
This recipe surprisingly has a tie to meatloaf—the dish, not the band, but I would do anything for love…of pigs in a blanket. I was initially skeptical about drizzling ketchup on before baking, but it caramelizes slightly in the oven and reminds me of the sticky-sweet glaze on meatloaf. It might be worth mixing a little brown sugar with it next time I make them, which will probably be tomorrow. Honey mustard is a great dipping sauce, but these pigs in a blanket don’t really need a sauce thanks to the creamy, cheesy filling.
More Cheesy Recipes To Try
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Line two sheet pans with parchment paper and set them aside.
Wrap the pigs in their blankets:
Unroll one sheet of crescent dough onto a cutting board. If it is divided into triangle-shaped rolls, press the seams together to seal it into one large rectangle. Cut the dough into even quarters—in half lengthwise and crosswise.
On the center of each piece of dough, place one hot dog horizontally, wrap the dough over it and fold in both ends. Pinch the seams together and use your hands to roll the dough-wrapped hotdog to seal. Repeat with the remaining dough and hot dogs until you have 8 pigs in blankets.
Space out 4 on each of your parchment-lined sheet pans—make sure to give them plenty of room to grow!—and set aside.
Make the corn cheese:
In a medium bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, mozzarella, onion, corn, sesame oil, sugar, salt, white pepper, and almost all of the scallions. Reserve a tablespoon or so for garnish.
Shape the pigs in blanket:
Working with one roll at a time, use kitchen shears or a sharp paring knife to cut a 1/4-inch slice crosswise at a 45-degree angle at one end of the pigs in a blanket. Do NOT cut all the way through—leave a bit of dough attached at the bottom. Lay and press the cut piece down onto the sheet pan. Like this, continue cutting 1/4-inch slices down the roll, pressing them down alternating right and left. It will look like a branch with leaves, vines, or flowers—however you want to nature-ize it in your mind. I get about 12 cuts per pigs in a blanket.
WATCH THIS! Watch Maangchi make the pull-aparts starting at the 8:50-minute mark in this clip.
Add the topping:
Spoon and spread about 1/2 cup of the corn cheese filling in the center of each pull-apart pigs in a blanket—most of the surface area should be covered. Drizzle ketchup on top, if you’d like a caramelized topping.
Bake:
Bake for 15 minutes, until golden brown all around. To save yourself from burnt fingers, wait 5 minutes after baking before pulling apart…or grab a fork. Sprinkle the remaining scallions on top, and serve as is or with ketchup and mustard for dipping.
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