Pigs in a blanket are usually very bland and boring for me. But not this recipe! These flavor-packed, Sweet and Spicy Pigs in a Blanket paired with a Habanero Spicy Cheese dip are the first thing on our menu on game day and any occasion that calls for party food with tons of flavor!
What’s the one thing Mr K would like to change about me? My nonchalance towards sports! 🙂 It’s not that I don’t get the fascination – I love watching rugby (if the All Blacks are playing), and the occasional game of cricket if the stakes are high (like the world cup finals). Even then, I’m not there for the game, but mostly for the snacks and drinks. Now those things, I can totally get behind.
Pigs in a blanket seem like a long-standing tradition for us on game day, and for parties or any kind of occasion that calls for a delectable appetizer. I love any kind of snack where the meat is wrapped with some kind of dough, but I usually prefer sausage rolls over pigs in a blanket because they typically have a lot more flavor, and I LOVE puff pastry. Those little piggies are always so bland and the blanket is there to merely cover their shame.
But not with this pigs in a blanket recipe that I’m sharing today! I made these Sweet and Spicy Pigs in a Blanket with a Cheese Dip, just so I can pack them with a ton of flavor! These sausages are fried in a sweet and spicy sauce, and then wrapped in crescent roll dough (you could even use puff pastry). The sausages are so flavorful, you’ll probably end up eating a lot of them just like that. 🙂
BUT WAIT! There’s more!
I paired these sweet and spicy pigs in a blanket with a delicious Habanero Spicy Cheese Dip/Sauce! It’s a creamy, spicy, tangy nacho cheese sauce spiced with mustard and cayenne pepper for an extra kick.
I made the habanero cheese sauce with habanero cheddar cheese, but you can make it with regular cheddar cheese/monterey jack and add some chopped habanero to it instead. And feel free to leave out the cayenne pepper if you’d like to keep it less spicy. Mr K and I have a very high threshold for hot and spicy so we always dial it down when we suggest recipes for others. 🙂 The spicy brown mustard is great though because it gives the cheese dip a lovely spicy tang. You can also use Dijon mustard or yellow mustard instead if you prefer.
I also made these mini/bite-sized, so they are perfect for snacking (and no double-dipping in the spicy cheese dip required either). You can use puff pastry instead (store-bought or using my easy homemade rough puff pastry recipe), if you like a more soft, buttery, flaky pastry for the blanket.
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Sweet and Spicy Pigs in a Blanket with Cheese Dip
Ingredients:
Spicy and Sweet Pigs in a Blanket
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1.5 lbs small cocktail sausages I use Smokies
- 3 tbsp packed brown sugar
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper I use a heaped tsp because we love it spicy!
- ¼ cup tomato ketchup
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 lb crescent roll sheet 2 sheets
- 1 egg lightly beaten (for the egg wash)
Habanero Cheese Dip (slightly adapted from Serious Eats)
- 8 oz shredded monterrey jack or pepper jack cheese
- ½ habanero de-seeded and chopped finely. Use less if you're using pepper jack cheese
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 can evaporated milk
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 tbsp spicy mustard
- Salt and pepper
Instructions:
Spicy and Sweet Pigs in a Blanket
- Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet, over medium-high heat.1 tbsp oil
- When the oil is hot, fry the sausages in the pan until they are heated through, and some caramelization starts to occur.1.5 lbs small cocktail sausages
- Add the sugar, tomato ketchup, cayenne pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Mix with the sausages until they are coated with the mix and fry them for a few more minutes until the sauce thickens and coats the sausages completely (as seen in the pictures in the post).3 tbsp packed brown sugar, ½ tsp cayenne pepper, ¼ cup tomato ketchup, 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- Remove from the heat and let them cool down to room temperature.
- Preheat oven to 350°F / 180°C.
- Place one crescent dough sheet on a lightly floured surface.1 lb crescent roll sheet
- Cut 1 inch-wide strips using a pizza cutter or knife. Cut each strip into 3 - 4 pieces (depending on how thick your cocktail sausages are).
- Wrap each mini sausage with a strip of the crescent dough, and pinch the edges to seal.
- Place the wrapped sausages on a parchment paper-lined baking tray.
- Brush each of them with an egg wash, and bake in preheated oven for 10 - 12 minutes, until the crescent dough is golden brown (please see recipe note about using puff pastry in place of crescent dough).1 egg
- Remove from the oven once baked, and let them cool down for a few minutes. Serve warm, or at room temperature, with dipping sauces.
Habanero Cheese Dip
- Grate the cheese using the large holes of a box grater (or equivalent). Toss the cheese with the cornstarch, until well-mixed.8 oz shredded monterrey jack, 1 tbsp cornstarch
- In a saucepan, combine the cornstarch coated cheese, evaporated milk, cayenne pepper, habanero and mustard. Heat over medium-low heat to gently heat the milk-cheese mix. Mix gently and frequently until the cheese has completely melted and you have a smooth, thick cheese sauce. You can add more evaporated milk (or cream) to thin out the sauce if you like (I add a few tbsp of cream to the cheese sauce every time I want to heat it up again).8 oz shredded monterrey jack, 1 tbsp cornstarch, 1 can evaporated milk, ¼ tsp cayenne pepper, 2 tbsp spicy mustard, ½ habanero
- Season with salt and pepper if needed.Salt and pepper
- Serve warm with the spicy and sweet pigs in a blanket.
Tips & Tricks
The oven should be preheated to 375°F / 190°C, and these need to be baked for 15 - 20 minutes (or until the puff pastry is golden brown).
Nutrition Information:
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
Marsha says
These look like the PERFECT appetizer! Yum!!
Cindy says
Gosh I need the flavour bender 🙂 I’ve been eating the bland pigs in blankets all these years and I love spicy food. Going to test these out this weekend. tysm
Brandi says
Spicy appetizer for my next party! I am sure everyone will enjoy these little pigs in a blanket
Suzanne says
How much of this can be done in advance? I’m looking for something to take to a family get together this weekend. Thanks
Dini says
Hi Suzanne!
You could make the pigs in a blanket (cook the sausages and wrap them in the dough), and place them on a tray – spaced out in one single layer, and cover them with plastic wrap and keep it in the fridge the day before. Just make sure that the sausages have completely cooled down before wrapping them in the dough. I haven’t done this myself, but I know others who have. I hope that helps!
suzanne says
thanks…I’m going to give it a try…
cakespy says
These remind me of the pigs in a blanket which were ubiquitous at my grandma’s holiday parties. But these are a lot fancier and better suited to my more complex (ha!) adult tastes! Yum!
Morgan @ Host the Toast says
These look so crazy good, Dini. I bet they’d fly off of the table for the Super Bowl!