Oven Corn Dogs

I love corn dogs but not the oil they are fried in. So get out your cast iron skillet and try this baked one. I found it on Foodnetwork site for The Emeril Live Show from Emeril Lagasse. This was on his "There's A Chef In My Soup" Episode. Mermaidmagic has posted the Baby Bam Baby Bam

• Ready In: 28 mins
• Serves: 7

Ingredients

• 3  tablespoons  vegetable oil
• 1⁄2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1⁄2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1  teaspoon baking powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon  baby bam  seasoning
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 cup buttermilk
• 1  egg
• 1⁄2 cup cheddar cheese, grated
• 14  fully cooked  cocktail franks

• Optional condiments

•  ketchup or  mustard or  chili sauce or   cheese sauce

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and make sure the oven rack is in the center position.
2. Lightly grease the corn-shaped wells of the cast iron pan with 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil.
3. Place the pan in the oven to preheat (pan should heat in the oven at least 15 minutes).
4. While the pan is heating, combine the remaining 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, cornmeal, flour, baking powder, Baby Bam, salt, buttermilk, egg, and cheddar in a mixing bowl and stir with a fork until just combined.
5. Carefully remove the hot pan from the oven and spoon about 3 tablespoons of the batter into each well. (This will use up only half of the batter.).
6. Lay 2 cocktail sausages down the center of each well.
7. Spoon the remaining batter into each well, dividing evenly between the wells, completely covering the sausages.
8. Bake until golden brown, about 18 minutes.
9. Remove pan from the oven and let sit for 3 to 5 minutes before turning the muffins out of the pan.
10. Serve hot, with desired condiments for dipping.