One of the things I challenged myself with in doing a pantry challenge this week was to use the things in the freezer that are the oldest first.  I have quite a few things in there that are starting to look their age, and I’d like to do something with them before they succumb to the freezer burn of death.  Last night’s challenge was a package of chicken drumsticks.  Now, I’m sure I bought them with the express purpose of making Ina’s Oven Fried Chicken, but last night I wanted something even easier- but along the lines of a crispy coating.   Cooking Light’s Honey-Pecan Crusted Chicken came to mind, but the last time I made it, Zander didn’t really eat it.  So I rummaged through the pantry to see what I could come up with and settled on something slightly unusual.

There is a newer restaurant in the area that we have decided we rather enjoy, and one of the items on their menu is a pretzel crusted chicken, so I let that inspire me, and Pretzel Baked Chicken Drummies were born.  They came together really easily, and the pretzels really added a whole new flavor to crispy baked chicken.   It’s a pretty straightforward recipe, but let me just point out that I removed the skin from the drummies, and would do so again in a second.  My number one beef with good crispy chicken is that it usually still has the skin on, and when you go to bite in, you end up with all the crispy goodness coming off with the first bite.  By removing the chicken skin, every bite had a bit of pretzel coating, and that made me a happy camper.   Overall, I was really pleased with this one, and suspect that the coating would make great chicken tenders or fingers as well.

Pretzel Baked Chicken Drummies

10 chicken drumsticks, skin removed

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon paprika

1/8 teaspoon salt

dash of cayenne pepper

a few grinds of fresh black pepper

1 cup crushed pretzels

1/4 cup finely chopped pecans

Cooking Spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350ºF.  Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray.  In a small bowl, combine the melted butter, garlic powder, paprika, salt, cayenne and black pepper.  In a shallow dish, combine the pretzels and pecans, crushing further if necessary.  You don’t want huge chunks of pretzels, but you also don’t want pretzel powder.

One at a time, using a pastry brush, brush the seasoned butter on the drumsticks, and then dredge them in the pretzel mixture.  Place the drumsticks in the prepared pan.

Once all the chicken has been dredged, spray them all lightly with cooking spray, and then place in the 350ºF oven.  Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until the chicken juices run clear when poked with a skewer. (About 165 on a thermometer.)  Serve immediately.

Serves 5, 2 drumsticks per person.