Baked Mini Corn Dog Bites Recipe

In general, I like to think that I'm a person who craves healthy foods and scoffs at those unhealthy, grease-laden, overly processed foods of my MidWestern childhood. But, for some reason unknown to me, whenever I see a corn dog stand, I want one. Bad.

It's odd, I know. I love raw desserts, rejoice at the sight of fresh spinach, do cartwheels when I see the first persimmon appear in the markets in October. And yet, the greasy, high-fat mystery within a mystery that is the corn dog tugs at some sheltered part of my foodie soul.

Of course, I don't buy all those corn dogs that I see in the stands, so to keep myself from feeling deprived while still maintaining my health, I came up with these Dairy-Free Baked Corn Dog Bites, which are significantly healthier than the classic corn dogs of my childhood. To make them even healthier, I use soy dogs and Egg Replacer, but they still come out fantastic. Sometimes, I get crazy and even add herbs and spices to the corn batter, like Kickpleat over at Everybody Likes Sandwiches, who spiced up her mini dogs with chili pepper and cayenne. Perfect for afterschool snacks, fun dinners, or Fourth of July parties-- who can say no?

Photo © 2009 Ashley Skabar, licensed to About.com, Inc.