• Preheat oven to 400°F
• Using a mini muffin tin, add paper liners and spray with oil (or skip liners then grease cups well); set aside.
• Slice mini hot dogs in half along the width/diameter. Then while holding the top (unexposed meat portion), cut straight down the middle lengthwise, rotate and repeat cut so you have 4 even quarters, but still attached at the top. (See photos from blog post for clarification.) It will sort of resemble an octopus with 4 legs. Repeat with all halves of the hot dogs. Pro tip: USE kitchen scissors for an even quicker way of cutting.

Prepare cornbread batter

• In a medium mixing bowl, combine and whisk the dry ingredients: Flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
• Pour in milk and oil, mix well until batter comes together. Batter will be thick. Evenly distribute batter into mini muffin cups, filling about 3/4 full. I usually have extra batter which can be baked in a round 6 inch shallow baking pan.
• Add one piece of the prepared mini hot dog in the center of each muffin cup, with the quartered sides sticking out the top (I.E the octopus legs sticking out of the muffin...see photos)
• Bake for 12-14 minutes or until cooked through (internal temp=195-200F), or toothpick comes out clean. Remove to wire rack and allow to cool slightly before serving.