A Bite Inspired by… Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:
A recent trip to Phaldelphia, Pennsylvania inspired me to create an oven fried chicken dish with the cinnamon sugar flavors of a donut. The result is an incredibly crunchy, slightly sweet, and super tasty Cinnamon Sugar Oven Fried Chicken with a drizzle of cinnamon honey! Baking it in the oven instead of deep frying it makes for a healthier dish that is every bit as delicious!
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A few months ago, my college roommate and I met up in Philadelphia for a girls’ daytrip. I hadn’t seen her in over a year and she was about to leave for a yearlong trip around the world (I’m so jealous), so we were super excited for this mini vacation. We had an amazing time checking out the sites, shopping, and, of course, sampling the food that Philly has to offer. She had done her research and suggested we eat lunch at a popular spot called Federal Donuts, famous for their fried chicken and, of course, donuts! This was also a fitting suggestion because when we were in college, I ate fried chicken in our dorm room ONE TIME. Literally, once. And from that day forward, she always teases me about being obsessed with fried chicken. So, there we go. Fried chicken college throwback.
When I got up to the counter, I asked the cashier which donut she recommended. Without hesitation, she immediately said the cinnamon sugar churro donut. Sold! I also ordered their signature fried chicken sandwich.
As I savored my delicious lunch, I noticed that the cinnamon sugar from the donut went remarkably well with the flavors of the fried chicken. It got me thinking, what if I were to combine those two flavors together into one cohesive dish? My lunch in Philly that day was the inspiration for my newest recipe: Cinnamon Sugar Oven Fried Chicken.
This dish is very quickly becoming one of my favorites. It’s sticky, crunchy, sweet, and savory all in one bite. My favorite thing about it is that the chicken is extremely crunchy, even though it’s baked in the oven instead of deep fried. I achieve this amazing texture by doing a double dredge: first in flour and then in panko. Mmm mmm soo good!
The cinnamon and sugar go right into the flour mixture, so those delicious flavors penetrate into the chicken while it’s baking. I also put some cinnamon into the milk and egg mixture used to adhere the panko to the chicken. Finally, in order to really hit those cinnamon sugar flavors home, I created a honey cinnamon sauce to drizzle over the hot chicken once it’s out of the oven.
This chicken has a delicious, sticky sweetness to it that regular fried chicken doesn’t give you. I was also very careful to balance the savory components of this dish with the sweetness, so it wouldn’t be overly sweet. The result is the perfect fried chicken—crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. And, since it’s oven baked, it’s much healthier for you than the deep-fried-in-tons-of-oil variety. Bonus! It’s perfect for dinner with a side of steamed green beans and some mashed potatoes. Is your mouth watering yet?
In addition to the delicious honey drizzle, you can also garnish the chicken with a bit of fresh mint. I’ve found that mint goes well with the sweetness of the honey, but it’s totally optional.
I can’t wait to make this Cinnamon Sugar Oven Fried Chicken for my friend when she gets back from what’s already looking like an amazing trip around the world. In the meantime, make this dish for yourself and get an amazing taste of Philly. Enjoy!
- For the chicken:
- 1 lb chicken breast, cut into large strips
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, separated
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup milk (I used soy milk, but you can use any milk you want)
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- For the drizzle:
- ¼ cup honey
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Fresh mint leaves, for garnish (optional)
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Pour the flour into a medium-sized bowl. Add the brown sugar and 1 tablespoon of the cinnamon. Mix well.
- Pour the flour onto a large plate. Spread the flour out evenly.
- Crack the eggs into a small bowl. Add milk and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. Stir well.
- Pour panko breadcrumbs onto a large plate and spread into an even layer.
- Pour melted butter into a large 9x13 baking dish.
- Place the chicken in a bowl. Place the bowls, plates, and baking dish on the counter in this order (left to right): chicken bowl, flour plate, egg/milk bowl, panko plate, and baking dish.
- Pick up one piece of chicken. Dip the chicken into the flour mixture and coat well. Shake off the excess coating.
- Dip flour-coated chicken into the egg/milk mixture allowing excess to drip off then dip into the panko. Make sure the chicken is coated well in the panko and then place in the baking dish.
- Repeat steps 8 and 9 with all the remaining pieces of chicken. Spread the chicken out in an even layer on the buttered baking dish.
- Put baking dish in the preheated oven.
- Bake for 10 minutes. Remove chicken from oven and flip each piece over with tongs.
- Bake for another 10 minutes. Check chicken for doneness. It should be cooked through, but still juicy. The outside should be crispy and brown.
- While chicken is baking, add the honey and remaining ½ teaspoon of cinnamon to a small bowl for the drizzle. Mix well.
- Remove chicken from oven. Allow to cool for 2-3 minutes and then transfer to a plate.
- Drizzle cinnamon honey on top of the chicken. Serve any extra on the side for dipping. Garnish with mint leaves, if desired. Enjoy!
OMG, this sounds so delicious! I never would have thought to add brown sugar and cinnamon to my fried chicken. Great idea. I am very much looking forward to trying this. Thanks!
Thank you so much, Danielle! I totally never thought of it either until my trip to Philly inspired me and I’m SO glad it did. It’s pretty much my new favorite chicken dish now. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
I think this is such a unique idea! And I love honey with fried chicken, so that little bit of sweetness will help bring that out even more. And that drizzle…mmmmm. I feel like I also need to head to Philly ASAP for some donuts (though this should hold me over in the meantime haha)
Thank you so much, Alison! The drizzle definitely puts this fried chicken over the top and highlights the flavors of the cinnamon and brown sugar– SO GOOD! You should totally check out Federal Donuts when you get a chance! Hope you enjoy this dish. Thanks again!
This sounds and looks amazing! You’re so creative – I wouldn’t have thought cinnamon sugar would go with chicken lol! But now that you mention it, plus the mouthwatering pics…gotta say it sounds like a great combination!
Thank you so much, Elizabeth! I wouldn’t have thought to do this either until I was inspired by my Philly trip! Definitely shows how far a little inspiration can take you. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
What a great idea. I’ve had fried chicken with honey, with maple syrup but never with cinnamon. I can taste it already. And I bet the technique would work well without the sweet (oven fried chicken any way!). Can’t go wrong with panko. Thanks for this.
Thank you so much, Romain! Yes, you could definitely make this dish without the sweet! Great suggestion! Although, I do highly recommend that you keep all those sweet ingredients because they really take the chicken to a whole new level. 😉 Thanks for stopping by!
Out here in the mountain west, we are still obsessed with fried chicken and waffles. This recipe for “fried” chicken is PERFECT for that! Would love to try this!
Yes!! Great idea, Mikaela! This dish would definitely go well with waffles. Plus, you could double the cinnamon honey and use it as a topping for both the waffles and the chicken, I love it– I’ll have to try that myself. Thanks! 🙂
When I saw this recipe, I had the same thought as Mikaela! Fried chicken and waffles with maple syrup, which I am a big fan of. You combine savory and sweet in your chicken recipe so wonderfully and I love the addition of cinnamon so much too!
Thank you so much, Marie! The chicken and waffles concept is definitely a great idea. The cinnamon totally takes it to a whole new level too! Hope you enjoy! 🙂
wow! I would have never have thought those combos would go but now that I think of it…why wouldn’t it? Crispy savoury and sweet is my all time favourite way to enjoy meats, must be the asian in me with my ultimate fave dish: sweet and sour pork! haha 🙂 Thank you for this awesome idea! I will need to definitely check this out next time I don’t know what to do with my chicken!
Omg LOVE sweet and sour pork. Great minds think alike, huh? 😉 You made a really smart observation, Joyce! While sweet and sour pork is obviously really different from this dish, it definitely has some of those same sweet and salty flavor profiles. If you love crispy, sweet, and savory, you’ll definitely love this dish! Enjoy! Thank you so much for stopping by! PS Now I want some sweet and sour pork. LOL
I absolutely LOVE this idea! I never would have thought to combine cinnamon sugar with fried chicken, it sounds so delicious! Definitely making this soon, thanks for such an innovative recipe!
Thank you so much, Erica! This dish has a sticky sweetness that’s really addicting. Hope you enjoy it! 🙂
I LIVE for salty sweet dishes! Pinning for later!
Yay! Thanks, Jamie! 🙂
This sounds really delicious. Of course we can add sweet to chicken. We do it all the time with the Chinese dishes. Pinning for future use.
Thank you so much, Mary! I totally agree. I love Chinese food, so that may have been some unintentional inspiration for this recipe too. haha 😉 Enjoy!