Classic Pigs in a Blanket with Mustard Dip
Little smoked sausages wrapped in flaky crescent dough, brushed with egg wash and baked until golden, with a tangy honey-mustard dip. Easy, crowd-pleasing party food that takes about 50 minutes from start to finish.
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Wait
- 5 min
- Total
- 50 min
- Makes
- 40 to 48 pigs in a blanket (8 servings of 5 to 6)
Steps
Before you start
- Keep the crescent dough refrigerated until you are ready to cut it; cold dough is far easier to cut and wrap.
- Position oven racks in the upper-middle and lower-middle positions and preheat to 375°F (190°C). Both pans bake at once and swap halfway.
- Pat the sausages very dry with paper towels so the dough sticks to them.
- You need two 8-ounce (226 g) cans of crescent dough, either triangle (8 per can) or sheet style (about 13×7 inches / 33×18 cm). A 14-ounce (397 g) package holds roughly 40 to 48 sausages, so count yours before wrapping.
Preheat and line pansOven 375°F / 190°C
- Place oven racks in the upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
- Line two large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
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Ready when: Oven reaches 375°F (190°C).
Tip: Make sure both pans fit on separate racks without touching the oven walls.
Dry the sausages
- Drain the cocktail sausages and spread them on a double layer of paper towels.
- Pat the tops dry with more paper towels, then count them (expect 40 to 48).
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Ready when: Sausages feel dry, not slick, to the touch.
Tip: Wet sausages make the dough slide off and bake up soggy.
Cut the dough
- Work with one can at a time and keep the other refrigerated.
- Triangle style: unroll the dough and separate the 8 triangles.
- Cut each triangle lengthwise from the wide end to the point into 3 skinny wedges, each about 1¼ inches (3 cm) wide at the base and 4 to 5 inches (10 to 12 cm) long.
- That gives 24 wedges per can.
- Sheet style: unroll the sheet (about 13×7 inches / 33×18 cm), press any perforations closed, and cut it into a grid of 6 columns by 4 rows, giving 24 rectangles about 2×1¾ inches (5×4.5 cm).
- Repeat with the second can for 48 pieces total.
- If you have fewer than 48 sausages, set the extra dough aside.
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Ready when: You have 24 evenly sized pieces per can, with clean edges.
Tip: A pizza cutter gives cleaner cuts than a knife. If the dough gets warm and sticky, chill it for 5 minutes.
Wrap the sausages
- Triangle wedges: lay a sausage across the wide end and roll toward the point, so the dough spirals around the sausage with the tip tucked underneath.
- Rectangles: lay the sausage along the 2-inch (5 cm) edge and roll it up once so the seam ends underneath.
- In both cases leave the sausage ends peeking out.
- Place seam-side down on the lined pans, about 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart, with about 24 per pan.
- Use leftover dough pieces to make plain twists, or discard.
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Ready when: Each sausage is loosely wrapped with the seam or dough tip tucked underneath.
Tip: Don't stretch the dough tightly; it puffs as it bakes and stretched dough can split.
Brush with egg wash
- In a small bowl, whisk the egg with the water until smooth and streak-free.
- Brush a thin, even layer over the top and sides of each wrapped sausage.
- Sprinkle with everything bagel seasoning, if using.
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Ready when: Dough looks evenly glossy with no puddles of egg on the pan.
Tip: Don't over-brush; pooled egg wash scrambles and sticks to the parchment.
Bake until goldenOven 375°F / 190°C
- Put one pan on the upper-middle rack and one on the lower-middle rack.
- Bake at 375°F (190°C) for 12 to 15 minutes, swapping the pans' positions and turning them front to back after 7 minutes, until the dough is deep golden brown and puffed and the sausages are sizzling.
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Ready when: Dough is deep golden brown on top, no pale raw dough shows at the seams, and a sausage reads 165°F (74°C) in the center.
Tip: Check the underside of one; if the dough looks pale or doughy, bake 2 minutes more.
Stir the mustard dip
- While the pigs bake, stir together the Dijon mustard, yellow mustard, honey, and mayonnaise in a small serving bowl until smooth and uniform in color.
- Taste and add a little more honey if you'd like it sweeter.
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Ready when: Dip is smooth, glossy, and pale golden with no streaks of honey.
Tip: Warm the honey for 10 seconds in the microwave if it is too thick to stir in.
Rest and serve
- Let the pigs in a blanket cool on the pans for 5 minutes so the dough firms up and the hot sausage cools slightly.
- Transfer to a platter and serve warm with the mustard dip.
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Ready when: Pastry feels firm when lightly pressed and is no longer steaming heavily.
Good to know
Tips
- Pat the sausages dry; this is the biggest factor in keeping the dough wrapped and crisp.
- Keep dough cold while working. Work with one can at a time and refrigerate the other.
- Space the pigs about 1 inch apart so hot air circulates and the sides brown instead of steaming.
- Add a thin sliver of cheddar or a dab of mustard inside the wrap for a variation, but don't overfill or the dough will open.
Make ahead
Assemble the wrapped sausages (without egg wash) up to 24 hours ahead. Arrange on a parchment-lined tray, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate. Brush with egg wash just before baking and add 1 to 2 minutes to the bake time. The dip keeps up to 5 days refrigerated.
Storage & reheating
Room temperature: up to 2 hours on a party table. Fridge: store baked pigs in an airtight container up to 3 days. Freezer: freeze unbaked, wrapped sausages (no egg wash) on a tray until solid, then bag for up to 2 months; brush with egg wash and bake from frozen, adding 4 to 5 minutes. Reheat leftovers on a baking sheet at 350°F (175°C) for 6 to 8 minutes until hot and crisp.
Substitutions
- cocktail sausages (little smokies) → regular hot dogs cut into 2-inch (5 cm) pieces. Cut about 16 hot dogs into thirds for 48 pieces (8 hot dogs for 24, using one can of dough).
- refrigerated crescent roll dough → puff pastry sheet. Thaw 1 sheet, cut into about 40 thin strips, and wrap spiral-style; bake 15 to 18 minutes. Use about 2 sheets for 48.
- mayonnaise → sour cream or plain Greek yogurt. Gives a tangier, slightly lighter dip.
- honey → maple syrup. Use the same amount for a subtly different sweetness.
