I found a new favorite crescent roll recipe 2 years ago and it's now the roll recipe I use to make pigs in a blanket. The dough is SO easy to work with and rolls out really nicely. I make these a few times a year, and sometimes do a double batch which makes 72 pigs! My kids love them for lunches at home and at school.
Pigs in a Blanket 2.0
1 TBSP instant yeast
¼ cup warm water
½ tsp sugar
1 cup warm milk
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup flour
2 eggs
3-4 cups flour
1 (14oz.) package Lit'l Smokies sausages
1. In a 1 cup glass measuring cup, mix yeast with warm water and ½ tsp sugar. Let stand until bubbly.
2. In a large bowl whisk together warm milk, oil, ½ cup sugar, and salt. Add 1 cup of flour to mixture, and mix well. Add 2 eggs and mix vigorously by hand. Add yeast mixture and mix vigorously until smooth (I like to use my whisk again here). With a wooden spoon, stir in 3-4 cups flour to the yeast mixture ( I usually end up doing 3 1/2 cups). Dough should be sticky.
3. Pour the dough into a large bowl. Cover with a tea towel or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours until it has doubled in size.
4. Once the dough has doubled in size, punch down and divide into thirds (each of my thirds weighs about 14.5 ounces). Roll 1/3 of dough on a floured surface making a circle about 12 inches round. Dough should be about ⅜" thick. Cut into 12 triangles (like a pizza). Place a sausage at the wide end of each triangle. Roll from the wide end to the point. Place rolls onto a lined or greased cookie sheet (I do 3 across and 6 rows down). Repeat with the other 2 thirds of dough. You should end up with 36 rolls, 2 pans with 18 on each. Cover rolls with a tea towel or plastic wrap and let rise for another hour at room temperature or until the rolls double in size.
5. Bake at 375 degrees until light lightly browned, which is about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and brush with melted butter.
