HONEY MUSTARD PRETZEL CHICKEN

Pretzel crusted chicken breasts with a sweet and tangy honey mustard sauce.

Honey mustard is my favorite type of mustard especially when we’re talking chicken.They belong together like peanut butter and jelly.

The homemade honey mustard sauce is used two ways. First, to coat the chicken before dredging in the pretzel crumbs and second, as a tasty sauce.

While the chicken was cooking I was dunking pretzels into it left and right. To say it’s slightly addicting is an understatement.

I may have had to make a second batch. I’ll never tell.

Pretzel crumbs make the best crispy coating for chicken! They work miracles on baked chicken making it so crunchy you might mistake it for fried. They form a crust that traps all the juices inside the chicken where they belong to help make it moist and tender.

You get crunchy pretzels, soft chicken and mouth-watering sauce in every single delicious bite making this an easy favorite.

Update: I tested and improved on the original recipe after some readers expressed problems with the pretzel coating. You can still find the recipe that I used here from Food & Wine if interested. Below is my updated version and what I feel is a fail-proof recipe. The pictures above are the new recipe and the one below the old.

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HONEY MUSTARD PRETZEL CHICKEN

Rating: 5

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Yield: 4 - 5 servings

Pretzel crusted chicken breasts with a sweet and tangy honey mustard sauce.

Ingredients:

2 cups panko crumbs

2 cups pretzel crumbs*

1/2 cup neutral tasting olive oil

1/2 cup Dijon mustard

1/3 cup honey (Iike clover or orange blossom)

1/4 cup bottled water

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

coarse salt and fresh ground black pepper

1 + 1/2 pounds boneless chicken breasts

1/2 cup flour, plus more if needed

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F. Lightly grease with oil a large, non-stick baking sheet or roasting pan. If you don't have a non-stick pan line a regular pan with parchment and lightly grease with oil.
2. In a large skillet over medium heat toast the panko crumbs until lightly golden, stirring constantly. Remove from the pan and allow to cool.
3. In a food processor pulse the pretzels until coarsely ground (small crumbs with some small pretzel pieces) then add them to a medium bowl and mix with the panko crumbs. Wipe the crumbs out of the food processor.
4. Add the oil, mustard, honey, water and vinegar to the food processor and pulse until smooth.
5. Season with salt and pepper. Taste and adjust the flavor to suit your own tastes by adding more mustard or honey.
6. Pound the chicken breasts out to an even thickness using a mallet. Season well with salt and pepper.
Set up a dredging station:
7. Pour half of the dressing into a large shallow bowl or dish, put the flour on a large plate and add half the pretzel mixture to a large, shallow bowl or dish (add the remaining half pretzel crumbs to the dish as needed).
8. Working one at a time and using tongs dredge the chicken in the flour then into the dressing allowing excess to drip off then into the pretzel crumbs patting them on if needed. Place on greased baking sheet.
9. Bake 16 - 25 minutes depending on their thickness/size or until cooked through (internal temperature 165 - 174 degrees F.).
10. Let the chicken sit 5 minutes before serving with the remaining honey mustard dressing.

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American Flag Cookie Cake

Every year I celebrate the Stars and Stripes with my rendition of the classic American flag cake, complete with silky buttercream frosting and the season’s freshest berries. But this year I’m swapping the cake batter for shortbread cookie dough and saluting the red, white and bluewith a new twist on the iconic Independence Day dessert. Behold, the American Flag Cookie Cake.

This updated take on a Fourth of July favorite features a buttery shortbread cookie base topped with tangy cream cheese frosting. Raspberries and blueberries form the festive garnish while white chocolate chips finish off the star-studded finale to your July 4th feast.

Preheat your oven for this updated take on the classic American flag cake and find inspiration for more red, white and blue eats with recipes for Patriotic Pavlova with Watermelon Stars,Frozen Chocolate-Covered Bananas, Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies and Easy Strawberry Shortcake with Whipped Cream.

Craving more? Sign up for the Just a Taste newsletter for a fresh serving of content delivered every week to your inbox! And stay in touch on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.

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American Flag Cookie Cake

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

 

Prep Time: 45 min

 

Cook Time: 15 min

Ingredients:

For the cookie:
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
11 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

For the toppings:
4 ounces cream cheese (half of one 8-ounce package), at room temp
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temp
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup blueberries
3 cups raspberries
1/4 cup white chocolate chips

Equipment: Quarter size (9x13 inches) rimmed baking sheet

Directions:

Make the cookie cake:
Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and brown sugar. Cut the butter into pieces, and using two forks or your fingers, work the butter into the flour mixture until it's the consistency of wet sand. Press the cookie dough firmly and evenly into a non-stick quarter size (9x13 inches) rimmed baking sheet.

Bake the shortbread for 10 to 15 minutes until it is pale golden. Remove the shortbread from the oven, place it on a cooling rack and allow it to cool completely while still in the pan. Once it has cooled, use a sharp knife to carefully cut around the edges then invert the shortbread cookie onto your serving platter.

Make the frosting:

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, blend the cream cheese until it is smooth. Add the butter and continue blending until combined. Add the vanilla extract then sift the powdered sugar into the bowl and blend just until combined. (Over-blending the mixture will cause the frosting to be too runny.)

Spread the cream cheese frosting in an even layer on the cookie cake. Position the blueberries in the top left corner of the cake in even rows to form the blue portion of the flag then position the raspberries in horizontal lines across the cake, leaving about 1 inch between each row, to form the stripes. Position the white chocolate chips between the blueberries to form the stars.

Using a sharp knife, slice and serve the cookie cake immediately, or refrigerate it until ready to serve.

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Caramel Apple Cookies

An easy recipe for soft and chewy cookies that taste just like a caramel-coated apple! Sweet, buttery & secretly skinny—but nobody will believe that!

Back in January, my guy organized a huge card game tournament. Although actually hosted by the owner of the comic book and game store where he volunteers on Friday nights, that man lacked experience with planning this particular style of event, so all of the details fell to my guy instead.

Throughout the fall, he had worked at similar tournaments hosted by other stores in Northern California, so he already knew what it took for the event to run smoothly. He advertised the date across social media, pre-registered players, and printed out all of the lists and materials. With a month to go, he recruited several friends to help him judge the games on the actual event date.

After hearing his stories about the other tournaments, I knew the volunteers rarely received lunch at a reasonable hour. With too many last-minute players to register, seats to set up, and card decks to check, the events almost always started 30-60 minutes late, regardless of which store was hosting!

So the night before, I practically emptied my flour canister baking scones, two types of muffins, and three flavors of cookies to keep the judges’ stomachs full and satisfied. Although half of the muffins returned home with my guy—his six friends all grabbed breakfast on their drive over—they polished off all four dozen cookies in just five hours!

This past weekend, my guy organized another tournament, and with many of his same friends volunteering, I assumed they’d expect cookies at this one too. One of his friends only agreed under the (somewhat joking) condition that my baked goodies would be there!

A few days before, I started brainstorming different flavors to try. As a food blogger, I can never pass by the opportunity to make something new when I know I won’t have any leftovers sitting on the counter to tempt me!

Although a few ideas floated around my head, I asked my guy if he had any thoughts before writing down recipes. After a few moments, he replied, “Caramel apple!” and was so excited about it that he immediately dashed out to the store—at midnight—to buy the ingredients for me.

So here they are… My guy’s Caramel Apple Cookies! Inspired by our favorite treat from Disneyland, these buttery pillows of goodness taste fun and familiar with their chewy fruit tidbits and sweet melty nuggets of caramel. When you sink your teeth into these soft cookies, you’ll never believe they’re low fat and low calorie—they taste just as indulgent as a regular buttery recipe!

I started with my favorite cookie dough base from my Ultimate Healthy Soft & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies. Many of you have tried it already and agree… With their buttery flavor and chewy texture, nobody can tell they’re lightened up!

Want to know my secrets?

Brown Sugar. It adds extra moisture and chewiness! Brown sugar also contributes a faint caramel flavor, which really enhances the sweet tidbits in this recipe. Both light and dark will work, although I generally prefer light.

Cornstarch. Typically stirred into soups and stews to absorb moisture and thicken them, it does the same thing in cookies. Cornstarch traps the moisture in the dough, which helps keep the cookies unbelievably soft.

Extra Vanilla Extract. I measure out more than the average recipe because extra vanilla imitates butter’s flavor without all of the fat and calories. That little trick works really well in muffins and cupcakes too!

For the mix-ins, it’s really important to dice them finely. The smaller pieces ensure that you get one in every bite, and believe me, it’s really disappointing to only taste a single little nibble of caramel per cookie.

When dropping the cookie dough onto the baking sheet, try to make sure none of the caramel nuggets on the bottom are exposed. They sometimes tend to stick to the parchment paper, and I don’t want you to miss out on any of that sweet candy!

My last secret to extra soft and chewy cookies: Underbake them! Leave the dough in the oven for a brief 10-12 minutes. They’ll look and feel underdone when you pull them out, but the centers continue to cook through on the warm baking sheet as they cool without the outsides turning crisp and crunchy. Baked this way, the cookies stay soft for an entire week—if they last that long!

With their gooey golden morsels and tender fruit tidbits, these Caramel Apple Cookies taste just like your favorite fair treat—sweet and sticky and oh so addictive—just turned into soft and chewy cookies. Even better, they’re a lot easier and much less messy to make!

When I stopped by the tournament on Saturday afternoon, almost all of the judges agreed that these were their favorites. The entire batch had basically disappeared before lunch, and only a few tiny crumbs remained!

Ready to bake your own?

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Caramel Apple Cookies

Yield: 12 cookies

Serving Size: 1 cookie

These soft and chewy cookies taste just like a caramel-coated apple! And they’re much easier and a lot less messy to make. Store any leftovers at room temperature in an airtight container for up to a week.

1 c all-purpose flour (measured correctly)

¾ tsp baking powder

¾ tsp cornstarch

1/8 tsp salt

2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted & cooled slightly

1 large egg

1 ½ tsp vanilla extract

½ c light brown sugar

2 tbsp dried apple, diced

3 caramel squares, diced (such as Kraft)

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cornstarch, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the brown sugar, smearing out any clumps along the side of the bowl. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Reserve about 1/3 of the diced apples and caramels, and fold the rest into the cookie dough.
3. Drop the cookie dough into 12 rounded scoops onto the prepared baking sheet. Press the reserved diced apples and caramels into the tops, and flatten slightly. Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes. Cool on the pan for 10 minutes before turning out on to a wire rack.

Notes: It’s important to dice the caramels rather finely because this ensures every bite contains a little. It’s rather disappointing to only have 1 or 2 nuggets of caramel per cookie, so cutting them smaller prevents that! 

The cookies should look and feel underdone when you pull them out of the oven. The centers will continue to cook on the warm baking sheet as they cool, and this ensures the cookies stay soft and chewy for an entire week.

© Amys Healthy Baking. Recipe and all images protected. Please obtain my written permission before using images. If republishing this recipe, please rewrite it in your own words or link back to this post.

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Caramel Apple Scones

Pear & Caramel Bread Puddings

Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Bacon Wrapped Asparagus with Garlic Aioli

Bacon wrapped asparagus is something that you can serve up to guests (or yourself) and feel good about it. The bitter and distinct, yet delicious, flavors of the asparagus paired with the rich and hearty bacon come together to form a fantastic combination. Pair that with a smooth and thick garlic aioli to top it all off and you have a winner on your hands. I’ve never been much of a fan of asparagus, but cooked right and wrapped in bacon – I will eat it any day!

When I’m lacking fats in a side dish, I love to make an easy sauces that will go well with the dish. In this case, a simple (and I mean really simple) garlic aioli will do the trick! Aioli’s are usually a bit of a pain to make, because you’re essentially making your own mayonnaise, but why not cut down the work and use either pre-made store-bought or homemade mayonnaise? It’s a fast way to get a bunch of flavor (and tons of fat) into your dish. All the while, still complimenting the flavor profiles of everything you took your time to make.

You’ll have half of the garlic aioli left when you finish with this dish, and that can easily be used over salads or as a sauce with a different cut of meat. The reason that you’re left with half is that there should be a reasonable amount of bacon fat and olive oil left in the baking pan when you’re finished cooking the asparagus. If you only use half of the aioli recipe to do this, you’re left with a very fatty and rich tasting sauce – drowning the other flavors out with the flavors of the bacon fat. And while that’s not always a bad thing, that’s not the flavor profile I was aiming for here.

Yields 3 Servings of Bacon Wrapped Asparagus with Garlic Aioli

The Preparation

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

• 1 1/2 lb. Asparagus
• 6 slices Bacon
• 2 tbsp. Olive Oil
• Kosher Salt
• Cracked Black Pepper
• Red Chili Flakes

Simple Garlic Aioli

• 2 tsp. Minced Garlic
• 1/4 tsp. Kosher Salt
• 1/4 cup Mayonnaise
• 1 large Egg Yolk
• 2 tsp. Fresh Lemon Juice
• Rendered Bacon Fat & Olive Oil

The Execution

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Get the 1 1/2 lb. of asparagus out and prep it. If needed, cut off the bottom 1 inch of the stalks to allow for a better consistency. The bottoms of asparagus are usually much thicker and harder than the rest of the stalk, meaning that it will be harder when it comes out the oven. My preference is to cut off this part of the stalk (normally a bit lighter in color).

2. Separate the asparagus into bundles. You should end up with 6 bundles with about 11 stalks per bundle. I was using small and thin stalks of asparagus. If you’re using larger asparagus, you may only get 4-5 stalks per bundle.

3. Wrap each bundle in 1 strip of bacon. Hold the tops of the spears of asparagus in your hand, then starting at the bottom wrap the asparagus in bacon. Move your way up until the whole slice of bacon wraps around the asparagus.

4. Transfer the now bacon wrapped asparagus on to a baking sheet wrapped in foil. Drizzle 2 tbsp. Olive Oil over the asparagus then season with salt, pepper, and red chili flakes.

5. Bake the asparagus at 400F for 20-22 minutes, then broil for an additional 2-5 minutes until the bacon is crisped and cooked.

6. Remove asparagus from the oven to let cool slightly.

7. Combine the rendered fats from the baking sheet, 2 tsp. minced garlic, 1 large egg yolk and 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice in a small container.

8. Add the 1/4 cup mayonnaise and 1/4 tsp. salt, then mix together until aioli is smooth.

9. Serve up and enjoy!

This will make 3 servings of Bacon Wrapped Asparagus with Garlic Aioli. Each serving comes out to 415 Calories, 37.5g Fats, 5.1g Net Carbs, and 10.8g Protein. You will have half of the aoili leftover at the end.

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus	Calories	Fats (g)	Carbs (g)	Fiber (g)	Net Carbs (g)	Protein (g)
1 1/2 lb. Asparagus	163	1	27	14	13	15
6 slices Bacon	623	61	0	0	0	16
2 tbsp. Olive Oil	240	28	0	0	0	0
Kosher Salt	0	0	0	0	0	0
Cracked Black Pepper	2	0	0	0	0	0
Red Chili Flakes	2	0	0	0	0	0
Totals	1030	90	27	14	13	31
Per Serving ( /3 )	343.3	30.0	9.0	4.7	4.3	10.3

Simple Garlic Aioli	Calories	Fats (g)	Carbs (g)	Fiber (g)	Net Carbs (g)	Protein (g)
1 tsp. Minced Garlic	10	0	2	0	2	0
1/8 tsp.  Kosher Salt	0	0	0	0	0	0
1/4 cup Mayonnaise	360	40	0	0	0	0
1 large Egg Yolk	55	5	1	0	1	3
2 tsp. Fresh Lemon Juice	5	0	1.5	0	1.5	0
Totals	430	45	4.5	0	4.5	3
Per Serving ( /6 )	71.7	7.5	0.8	0.0	0.8	0.5
Totals Together	415.0	37.5	9.8	4.7	5.1	10.8

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Bacon Wrapped Asparagus with Garlic Aioli

This will make 3 servings of Bacon Wrapped Asparagus with Garlic Aioli. Each serving comes out to 415 Calories, 37.5g Fats, 5.1g Net Carbs, and 10.8g Protein. You will have half of the aoili leftover at the end.

The Preparation

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus
• 1 lb. Asparagus
• 6 slices Bacon
• 2 tbsp. Olive Oil
• Kosher Salt
• Cracked Black Pepper
• Red Chili Flakes
Simple Garlic Aioli
• 2 tsp. Minced Garlic
• 1/4 tsp. Kosher Salt
• 1/4 cup Mayonnaise
• 1 large Egg Yolk
• 2 tsp. Fresh Lemon Juice
• Rendered Bacon Fat & Olive Oil

The Execution

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Seperate asparagus into 6 bundles (about 11 stalks per bundle). Cut off bottom 1 inch of asparagus if needed.
3. Wrap each bundle in 1 piece of bacon, starting from the bottom of the stalks and working upward.
4. Transfer asparagus to a foil wrapped baking sheet. Season with olive oil, salt, pepper, and red chili flakes.
5. Bake for 20-22 minutes, then broil for additional 2-5 minutes to allow bacon to crisp up.
6. Combine garlic, mayo, egg yolk, rendered fats from the baking pan, salt, and lemon juice.
7. Mix together well until an aoili is smooth.

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