Mini Mummy Dogs

I saw this recipe recently in a Pillsbury cooking magazine, and I fell in love with these little guys immediately. They're a perfect Halloween appetizer or snack, and not actually as tricky to make as I'd feared. (Never having wrapped a mummy in bandages before, wrapping them in dough sounded downright terrifying.)

Mini Mummy Dogs
Makes about 3 1/2 dozen

1 8-ounce can refrigerated flaky dough sheet (crescent dough)
1 16-ounce package miniature smoked sausages
Ketchup or mustard

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Roll out dough sheet to a 14-inch by 11-inch rectangle. (This is a bit sticky.) Then cut in half vertically to make two 7-inch by 11-inch rectangles. (I find a pizza cutter works best for this.) Cut cross-wise to create 44 7-inch by 1/2-inch strips.

3. Use paper towels to dry the sausages, so the dough adheres to them more easily.

4. Wrap one strip of dough around each sausage to create a mummy effect. Press firmly at the ends to secure the dough.

There's no perfect method for this, and my mummies had a lot of variety. But try to keep a little bit of space open for the mummy's eyes, which will be dabbed on with ketchup or mustard.

Having been a history major and a classical studies minor in college, I can say with near-certainty that this wasn't a common practice in the ancient Egyptian mummification process.

5. Place the mummies on the baking sheets, about 2 inches apart, so they brown evenly.

6. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until dough is golden.

7. Dab on some eyes using ketchup or mustard, and serve warm with preferred dipping sauce.