Honey Mustard Pretzel Chicken Tenders

Honey Mustard Pretzel Chicken Tenders - Photo by JayDi Photography

 I love pretzels. I can eat them plain, with humus, with cottage cheese, and of course covered in yogurt and/or chocolate. So it's safe to assume that the moment I saw this recipe, I knew I had to try it. And with good reason. This doesn't take long to assemble. It looks like a lot of steps, but get your kids involved. Set up stations and let them get the gooped up hands with the dredging and dipping. They say you're most likely to have success having them try something new if they helped you make it.  This is baked and an alternative to a plain old flour or cornflake batter. Don't get me wrong, the classics are great. But let's turn it up a notch and make things interesting again! Enjoy, because we sure did!

Honey Mustard Pretzel Chicken Tenders

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 15 min

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons olive oil
3 cups salted pretzels
1 1/4 pounds uncooked chicken tenders
3 large eggs
3 Tablespoons honey mustard, plus more for serving
1 cup all-purpose flour

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 475°F with the rack in the lower third of the oven. Line a baking sheet with foil and brush it with the olive oil.

Crush the pretzels until they are finely ground. I had trouble with mine breaking through the Ziploc bag.  So I simply used the bottom side of my pestle and mortar or you can use a cup or heavy pot. Transfer the crackers to a pie plate, or large shallow container.

 

In a separate pie plate, or large shallow container, whisk together the eggs with the honey mustard. 

Place the flour in a third pie plate or large shallow container.

 

Bread each tender by coating it in the flour, shaking off any excess, and then dipping it in the eggs. (If you consistently use the same hand to do this motion, you'll only get one gooped up hand with the other free to assist.)

Transfer the tender from the eggs to the crushed pretzels, pressing the pretzels into the chicken to ensure an even coating, and then place the tender on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat the breading process with the remaining tenders, arranging them in a single layer.

Bake the tenders, turning them over once, until they're golden brown, about 15 minutes total. Remove the tenders from the oven, season them with salt (optional) and serve immediately with additional honey mustard for dipping.