Coconut-Crusted Chicken Tenders

Coconut-Crusted Chicken Tenders

adapted from Cooking Light magazine (April 2008)

1 package chicken tenders
(I don’t remember how many pounds – maybe a little over 1 pound? – my package was, but it had about 16 tenders in it)
1 1/2 cups fat-free buttermilk
all-purpose flour (about 1 1/2 or 2 cups)
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups crushed cornflakes
1 1/2 cups flaked sweetened coconut
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Cooking spray

Put chicken in a lidded resealable plastic container or plastic bag. Pour buttermilk over the chicken and refrigerate for 1 hour. After 1 hour, pour off the buttermilk and discard it.

Place the flour in a shallow bowl. Place the eggs in another shallow bowl. Combine coconut, cornflakes, garlic powder, salt, curry powder and cayenne and place in another shallow bowl.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a large cookie sheet with cooking spray (olive or canola) and place it in the oven.

Roll all of the chicken tenders in the flour, one at a time, and set them aside on a large plate, platter (or use a second cookie sheet).

One at a time, dip each flour-coated chicken tender into the egg and then into the cornflake/coconut mixture, turning to coat well. As you finish each tender, set it aside on the platter or baking sheet until they are all coated.

Remove the preheated baking sheet from the oven and carefully place the chicken tenders on it. Spray the tenders lightly with cooking spray. Bake for about 20 minutes, turning over halfway through the cooking time.

These were DELICIOUS and a big hit with all of us. Girl said that they were a little bit spicy, but they’re really aren’t hot so much as flavorful. If you are concerned about the amount of spice for your family, just cut back the cayenne and curry a tiny bit. I am going to try to come up with some sort of dipping sauce for them the next time that I make them. This recipe would be GREAT made with butterflied shrimp, instead of chicken, but shellfish doesn’t fly with Hubby. Maybe sometime when Hubby and Girl are both out of the house…