Baked Hot Honey Mustard Pretzel Chicken Fingers

• porsi: Servings 6
• waktu aktif: 20 minutes
• total waktu: 40 minutes

Bahan-bahan

1/4 cup dijon mustard

1/4 cup plain yogurt, sour cream, or olive oil mayo

2 tablespoons honey

2 pounds boneless chicken tenders

2 cups finely crushed salted pretzel twists

1 teaspoon each garlic and onion powder

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon black pepper

extra virgin olive oil for brushing

ranch dressing for serving (optional)

SPICY HONEY SAUCE

1/4 cup honey

3 tablespoons salted butter

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper using more or less to your taste

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

kosher salt

Petunjuk

To start, mix up the honey mustard and toss it with trimmed chicken tenders. The honey mustard is our flavor and our “glue” that helps adhere the pretzel crumbs onto the chicken tenders.

Next, finely crush the pretzels into crumbs to bread the chicken. The finely crushed pretzels are key. They flavor the chicken with the perfect amount of salt, which pairs wonderfully with the sweet and tangy honey mustard.

Tip? Pulse the pretzels in the food processor to really break them down into a fine crumb. If you don’t have a food processor, just add the pretzels to a ziplock bag, then step on the bag with your feet to finely crush them. Trust me, this works. You can even just use the actual pretzel bag and step on that. It’s what dad used to do when he’d make potato chip chicken when I was a kid. This trick is an oldie but a goodie.

Next, bake the chicken in the oven until it crisps all over. My secret is to gently dab/brush the chicken with olive oil before it bakes. This helps the coating to really crisp up nicely in the oven. You can’t skip this step, it’s crucial.

on to the sauce.

No chicken finger is complete without a dipping sauce…our two. In this family, you can never have enough sauce.

So first…the Spicy Honey Sauce. It’s inspired by the famous Nashville Hot Chicken and it’s the same sauce I use on my southern oven fried chicken. It’s spicy, but balanced with a touch of sweetness. The classic way to add sweetness to this spicy sauce is with brown sugar, but I prefer using honey for better flavor and texture.

Enter the cool ranch. I like to simply mix up a quick homemade ranch, but you can easily use your favorite store-bought ranch too. I like to use both sauces. Then you get a little buttery sweet and spicy sauce mixed in with a little creamy cooling ranch.

Once the chicken is done cooking, serve it up along with the sauces. I like to add these Tuscan style fries. If you’re going to do a chicken finger night, you might as well add the fries. Hey, this is quarantine life, we have to try to make some fun. Plus, just like the chicken, these fries are baked, not fried.

To sum things up, the chicken is a touch tangy and perfectly salted. The sauce is spicy, yet buttery. Put everything together and you’ll have tangy, salty, sweet, and spicy chicken fingers. So much (really) good flavor.

The best part about this recipe is that you’ll hopefully be able to find all of the ingredients in your pantry and your freezer. With such a large family, I always try to keep chicken tenders in the freezer at all times. They thaw much quicker than chicken breasts, and they make for a great last-minute protein source. The rest of the ingredients are all taken from the pantry shelves… honey, mustard, spices, and dried herbs.

Simple and easy!

Lastly, if you make these spicy honey mustard pretzel chicken fingers, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

1. In a bowl, whisk together the mustard, yogurt, and honey. Add the chicken and toss well to coat.

2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

3. Add the pretzel crumbs, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and a pinch of pepper to a medium sized bowl. Stir to combine.

4. Remove each piece of chicken from the honey mustard, and dredge through the crumbs, pressing gently to adhere. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat until all the chicken has been used. Make sure not to crowd your pan, if necessary use two baking sheets. Lightly brush/drizzle the chicken with olive oil. Transfer to the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

5. Meanwhile, make the spicy honey sauce. Melt together the honey, butter, cayenne, chili powder, paprika, and a pinch of salt.

6. Serve the chicken topped with flaky salt and spicy honey sauce for dipping. I'd add a side of ranch too. Enjoy!