If you’re looking for something to serve at your July 4th party, Firecracker Hot Dogs can be a wonderful, crowd-pleasing idea. The fun snack makes an excellent dish to bring to the neighborhood block party or even just to serve at home alone with the kids. This festive meal is designed to look just like firecrackers before they’re set off. Even arranged in a bucket, these hot dogs will look like part of the spectacular festivities for later!

To create the dish, thread each raw hot dog with a bamboo skewer. You want to put the skewer through the hot dog length-wise, leaving a small amount of wood poking out from the top of the dog. Repeat the process for each Firecracker Hot Dog you want to make, and place each finished dog on a single baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Then take some refrigerated dough and gradually wrap it around each hot dog, leaving a little space between each wrap so the hot dog peeks through. Repeat the process for each dog, and then bake them at 350-degrees for 20 minutes in the oven.

While your dogs are baking, use the time to create the toppers for each dog. For those, you’ll want to use a piece of cheese. If you have a cookie cutter in the shape of a star, that can make cutting out each topper easy. If not, you can get the same effect by creating your own paper template of a star, placing it on a piece of cheese, and then cutting around it using your knife.

When your hot dogs are done, place a cheese star on top of each one and then arrange your dish in a bowl or basket. The more upright you can make the firecrackers the better. What a fun dinner idea!

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