Pretzel Crusted Chicken Bites

Anyone who knows me knows my infinite love for chicken. Growing up I pretty much only ate chicken tenders anytime we were out to diner and though I'm a little better now (especially since getting pregnant the first time when I decided to try new things like guacamole and fell in love.. so weird), I do still crave chicken tenders a lot. Joey is a really good cook but we haven't ever been able to fix chicken at home to my liking; fried, baked, grilled, Parmesan crusted, nothing. When we were trying to decide on dinner the other night, I remembered that I'd recently seen a recipe (The Pioneer Woman) where she breaded goat cheese with pretzels so we decided to chop up some chicken and give pretzels a chance to make me change my mind about chicken at home. These did not disappoint! Unfortunately we were out of honey mustard and didn't have the ingredients to make our own so Beckett and I dipped them in ketchup. They were so good on their own that I wasn't even the least bit upset about not having the perfect dipping sauce!

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 and 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken tenders


• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour


• 1 teaspoon salt


• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper


• 2 large eggs


• 1 and 1/2 cups finely crushed Rold Gold Pretzel's (make sure you aren't trying to use big chunks of pretzels)


• nonstick spray like PAM, olive oil spray, or coconut oil spray

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Coat a large baking sheet with nonstick spray.


2. Cut chicken into 1-1.5 inch pieces.


3. Combine flour, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish.


4. Beat eggs in another shallow dish.


5. Pour crushed pretzels into a third shallow dish (we crushed them in the Ninja and then poured them into a measuring cup so we just left them in the measuring cup instead of dirtying up another dish).


6. Coat each chicken piece in flour, shaking off any excess.


7. Then, dip in egg and let any excess drip off.


8. Then generously roll in the pretzels, shaking off any excess. Add more crushed pretzels to the dish if you are running low.


9. Place the chicken bites on the prepared baking sheet. Lightly spray each with nonstick spray to "seal" the breading, which will prevent the breading from staying raw and allows it to bake onto the chicken fingers.


10. Bake for 8 minutes.


11. Turn each piece over and continue baking until the outside is crisp and the centers are cooked through, about 6-8 minutes more. Baking times may vary, just make sure yours are cooked through. If you like them more brown, bake longer.


12. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

We paired ours with my favorite Ore-Ida Crispers (fries) with some seasoned salt for good measure. Such a good little meal that the whole family had fun making together!

**Tip! If you're serving these at a party, stick a toothpick in each bite.