Faux Fried Chicken & Biscuits

I've noticed lately that whenever there is one of those commercials for fast food chicken & biscuits comes on TV Matt makes a comment about how good they look. So, I decided to make him my own version at home.

I figured I could make them a little healthier by baking the chicken instead of frying. I used the same basic technique that I've done in the past for faux fried chicken but this time I used boneless chicken breasts & changed the seasoning up a bit.

Faux Fried Chicken

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 c buttermilk
6 T fine bread crumbs
2 T grated Parmesan
1 t ancho chile powder
1 t grated lemon zest
salt & pepper

The night or morning before you plan on making the chicken, pound it with a mallet until its an even thickness. Cut the chicken breasts in half & put in plastic bag with the buttermilk.

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Mix the bread crumbs, Parmesan, ancho, lemon zest & salt & pepper together in a shallow bowl. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Take the chicken pieces out of the buttermilk & dip them in the bread crumbs, pressing in on to coat. Put the chicken on the baking sheet & bake for 10 minutes. Then turn the chicken over & allow to bake for 10 - 15 more minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

Biscuits
(adapted from Small-Batch Baking)

1 c all-purpose flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
4 T unsalted butter, cold
7 T - 8 T heavy cream
melted butter

Preheat oven to 450 F.
Shift the flour, baking powder & salt together into a bowl. Cut the butter into small pieces (if the butter warms up put it back in the refrigerator for a few minutes. Add the butter to the flour & use two knives to cut it in until the butter is in small pea-sized pieces. Sprinkle 7 T of cream over the dough & use a fork to toss it until a dough begins to form. Add the remaining cream if the dough isn't coming together. Use your hands to bring the dough together in the bowl quickly, just 5 to 6 kneads. Put the dough on a floured surface & shape into a 5-inch square about 1/2-inch thick. Cut into four 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" squares.
Brush a little melted butter on a baking sheet & place the biscuits on the butter. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes until risen & golden brown. Brush a little melted butter on top of the hot biscuits.

Slice the biscuits in half horizontally. Place a piece of chicken between the slices of biscuit.

Makes 4 small sandwiches

This was my first time making biscuits from scratch. The recipe originally called for self-rising flour which I didn't have so I added the baking powder & salt which is supposed to make an appropriate substitute. I had hoped the biscuits would have risen a little higher but I'm not sure if the problem was this substitution or because I handled the dough too much. They did turn out really flaky & tasted great though.

Matt like his sandwiches with a little mustard on them. I thought they were perfect with just the buttery biscuit & the chicken.