Trader Joe’s Puff Dogs Review

Trader Joe's Puff Dogs

Corn dogs can be a nice summertime treat — or they can be something to snack on during a cold winter’s evening. We typically love these little guys no matter which season it is when we come across them. However, Trader Joe’s Puff Dogs aren’t corn dogs exactly — these are beef hot dogs wrapped (or “swaddled,” we should say) in a pastry rather than being coated with a cornmeal shell.

Now, Trader Joe’s also makes something much closer to a traditional corn dog — check out the Trader Joe’s Turkey Corn Dogs if that’s what you’re looking for  — but today we’re going to focus our energy on the Puff Dogs.

These are not designed to be heated in the microwave, so you’ll need to use the oven. When you open the package, you’ll see why — the pastry portion is still dough before you cook these. A microwave simply wouldn’t cook the pastry properly.

Trader Joe's Puff Dogs

But the heating instructions aren’t particularly difficult. We preheated the oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit, stuck some Puff Dogs on a cookie sheet (seam-side down), and tossed them in for about 25 minutes (well, the box says 25 minutes, but we ended up giving them a little more time to get nice and golden brown).

Now, we should probably warn you, these are not quiet little guys. They sizzle, hiss, and pop quite loudly while they’re cooking. In fact, they were so loud that we felt obligated to go check on them as they were approaching the 20-minute mark.

Also, because the beef hot dogs kick out so much grease during the cooking process, these end up sticking to the pan pretty aggressively. You’ll probably want to use some sort of nonstick cooking spray on the cookie sheet before you stick these into the oven.

The outer shell is an interesting thing, as it’s rich and flaky like a croissant. We were surprised at how great the shells tasted, actually, and we’d be willing to eat just the shell with perhaps a little butter. No dogs needed.

Trader Joe's Puff Dogs

Then again, the hot dogs used here are some high-quality dogs. The beef is flavorful, and we’re tempted to say these taste more like true brats than generic hot dogs. They’re very good.

The package shows mustard as the condiment of choice for these dogs. While it’s hard to imagine a corn dog (or an item similar to a corn dog) without mustard, we like to add ketchup as well. Some might consider that to be uncivilized, but it’s how we roll here at Freezer Meal Frenzy. All this is to say that these are definitely made better by the addition of a condiment.

One package contains five Puff Dogs, and the nutrition info on the box claims that a single Puff Dog is a serving. That surprised us — when we first looked at these, we doubted that anyone would sit down and eat less than two of these. But the pastry shells actually make these more filling than your average corn dog. A pair of these is definitely a hearty meal.

But you’ll want to be careful if you end up eating more than one at a time. A single Puff Dog contains 270 calories, meaning two puts you at 540. You don’t want to know where the whole box gets you (and if you do want to know, it’s 1,350). The sodium is a bit more manageable, at 280 mg per dog (560 mg for two and 1,400 for the whole box). We very much doubt that one person will be able to finish the whole box in a single sitting.

Trader Joe’s Puff Dogs are delicious and surprisingly filling. They’re a lovely upgrade from your typical corn dogs — these little guys have some class!

To learn more about the nutrition content, cooking instructions, or ingredients in these Trader Joe’s Puff Dogs, check out our package scan below.

Trader Joe's Puff Dogs

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