Gluten-Free Oven-Baked Chicken Fingers

I originally made these for Aaron, but they were so good I ate them all up before he woke up from his nap....oops!

Ingredients

• 1 lb chicken tenders

• Salt and pepper to taste

• 1 cup of almond flour

• 1 teaspoon of paprika

• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon of onion powder

• Pinch of red pepper flakes

• 2 eggs

• 1 cup of Panko crumbs

• Everything But The Bagel Seasoning, optional

• Avocado oil

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees

2. Pat the chicken tenders with a paper towel until dry and then place them in a plastic zip-lock bag, removing as much air as possible and sealing before pounding until thin. You can use almost any heavy, flat object to pound the breast —a rolling pin, a meat mallet, even an empty wine bottle.

3. Remove the tenders from the bag and season generously with salt and pepper and set aside.

4. Set out 3 shallow bowls on your counter. In the first bowl combine the almond flour, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and red pepper flakes. In the second bowl, whisk the eggs with a fork, and in the third bowl combine the panko with a pinch of salt or Everything But the Bagel Seasoning.

5. Prepare a sheet pan lined with foil and a wire rack on top. Spray the wire rack generously with avocado oil.

6. Now one or two at a time, dip the chicken tenders in the almond flour mixture, making sure to evenly coat them. Then dredge the tenders in the egg evenly and then shaking them gently over the bowl to allow any extra egg to drip off. Finally, a quick dip into the Panko to evenly cover them. Place each tender on the wire rack.

7. Spray the chicken tenders on both sides with avocado oil, and then place in the oven for 17 minutes or until done, they should read 155 degrees on a meat thermometer. If they are not brown enough you can put them under the broiler for 1-2 minutes or turn on the convection oven for the final few minutes of cooking.

Enjoy!