Little Smokies

Little smokies are such a scrumptious finger food. You know the ones: the slow cooker snack that involves miniature weenies swimming in sauce. If it's been awhile since you've had them, let me let you in on a little secret: they're even better than you remember.

There are a few different versions of little smokies out there, some calling for just weenies and bottled barbecue sauce and others adding things like grape jelly to the mix, similar to cocktail meatballs. This version, though, is so much more flavorful than what I've tried in the past. The tangy-sweet sauce is made with ingredients like ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, a handful of spices, and the real game-changer: adobo peppers. The peppers and the sauce they come in add a kick of heat and smokiness that will have guests coming back for seconds. Just set out a jar of toothpicks and let everyone go to town!

Do little smokies need to be cooked?

These little sausages come fully cooked, so really all you're doing is heating them up and allowing time for all the flavors in the sauce to combine.

Can you make little smokies ahead of time?

If you want to work ahead, whisk the sauce together up to three days in advance and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. When it comes time to make the little smokies, just add it to your slow cooker or saucepan (depending on the method you choose), along with the franks.