Cheddar Cornbread Chicken Fingers with Jalapeño Honey Butter.

By vealam

Ingredients

• Cheddar Cornbread:
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 cup finely ground cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
• 3/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• Chicken Fingers:
• 2 cups cubed cornbread
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken tenders
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 3/4 cup finely crushed cheddar cheese crackers (Cheez It's or Gold Fish both work)
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
• pepper, to taste
• Jalapeño Honey Butter:
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons salted butter
• 2 Jalapeño's, sliced

Details

Servings 4
Adapted from halfbakedharvest.com

Preparation

Step 1

!Cheddar Cornbread:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease an 8x8 inch pyrex pan.

Combine whole wheat pastry flour, cornmeal, salt and baking powder together and mix with a spoon. Add the honey, melted butter, buttermilk and egg, stirring until smooth. Fold in the corn and cheddar cheese.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until top is golden and bread is cooked throughout. Allow the bread to cool completely before slicing.

Chicken Fingers:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray or brush it with the olive oil.

Crumble the corn bread into fine crumbs over the baking sheet. Drizzle the melted butter over the crumbs. Toast in the oven for about 10-15 minutes, stirring once or twice until golden and crisp. Remove from the oven and increase the temperature to 475 degrees F.

In a bowl combine the buttermilk and the chicken, toss well.

Add half the toasted cornbread crumbs to a shallow bowl and stir in the cheddar cheese cracker crumbs. Remove each piece of chicken from the buttermilk, and dredge through the cornbread 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 spray the fingers with cooking spray or a mist of olive oil.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, then gently flip using kitchen tongs and spray the other side. Bake for 10-12 minutes more, then remove from oven and serve with the Jalapeño Honey Butter (recipe below).

Jalapeño Honey Butter:
In a small sauce pan, bring the honey, butter and Jalapeño's to a low boil, cook for 1 minute and then remove from the heat. Allow the honey to cool slightly and serve as a dipping sauce for the chicken fingers. Leftovers can be used on biscuits or your favorite sandwiches!