Oven-Baked Onion Rings

I swear, the weekends go by so fast, I hardly have time to catch my breath these days!  What is it about weekends that make them go into hyperdrive?  My weekend started off on Friday with this delicious oven baked onion ring recipe.  I made some simple grilled chicken and served up these onion rings and corn.  Yummy!

I first saw this recipe for oven baked onion rings on Cook's Country a few weeks ago.  It uses one of my favorite ingredients, buttermilk, and with all the really big and sweet onions coming to market this time of year, it was the perfect time to give this recipe a go.  

The original recipe called for 4 cups of crushed kettle cooked potato chips.  I wanted to use them, and was planning on cutting the amount in half...but wouldn't you know it?...not a potato chip in the house.  So I increased the amount of saltines and added a 1/4 cup of crushed cornflakes crumbs.  

The changes seemed fine, as the rings did get crunchy...and the flavor...omg...so good.  I was really surprised.  The breading also clung fairly well to the onion rings, making them look as good as they tasted.

I tried to be as accurate as possible with the nutrition information for this recipe, but I ran into some problems.  First off, you don't really use the entire onion.  Second, although the onion rings are dredged in flour, buttermilk mixture, and crumbs...you don't really use all of those either ( at least I didn't ).  

Just so you know...I did the best I could...but do give these onion rings a try.  They are a bit of work but so worth it and definitely better for you then the deep fried ones. 

Oven Baked Onion Rings adapted from Cook's Country

Servings - 6   Serving size - 1/6th of recipe   PP per serving - 7 points+

Calories - 269.1,   Total Fat - 13.2g ,   Carb. - 32.2g,   Protein - 5.7g,   Fiber - 1.9g

1/2 cup all purpose flour, divided

1 large egg, at room temperature

1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk, at room temperature

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

salt and fresh ground black pepper

2 cups crushed saltine crackers ( I used the food processor ) 

1/4 cup crushed cornflake crumbs

2 large sweet onions, cut into 1/2 inch rounds

4 TBSP. canola oil, divided

1. Adjust oven racks to accommodate two baking sheets.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. 

2. Place 1/4 cup flour in shallow baking dish.  Beat the egg and buttermilk together with a whisk in another bowl. ( I used a deep dish pie plate )  Whisk in remaining 1/4 cup flour, cayenne, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper into the egg/buttermilk mixture.  

3.  Combine the saltines and the crushed cornflake crumbs in another shallow bowl.  ( again, I used another pie plate) 

4.  Pull apart the rings in each round, saving the ones that are less than 2 inches in diameter for another time.  Working one at a time, dredge each onion ring in the flour, shaking off excess.  Dip in buttermilk mixture, coating all side of onion, then drop into crumb coating.  Turn ring to coat evenly.  Transfer to large plate and repeat with remaining rings.  

5. Pour 2 TBSP canola oil into each of two rimmed baking sheets.  Place in oven and heat until just smoking, about 8 minutes.  Carefully tilt the pans to allow the oil to coat the surface.  Arrange onion rings on the pans.  ( you will hear them sizzle just a bit when you place them on the hot pan) 

6.  Bake, flipping onion rings over and switching and rotating position of baking sheets halfway through baking.  Bake until golden brown on each side, about 15 minutes.  Transfer onion rings to container or plate lined with paper towels to drain briefly.  Serve immediately. 

Image source: google

As I mentioned I began the weekend with these delicious onion rings. But I ended it with a trip to a local French cafe we love, Le Petit Triangle.  

My husband and I started our meal off with a shared appetizer of smoked trout.  Delicious!  I didn't have my camera, so I am borrowing some of these images from google.  

image source: google

For my entree, I enjoyed a breast of duck in a blueberry reduction on a bed of sweet potatoes with a side of braised greens.  

Dessert was a delicious crepe stuffed with strawberries and Nutella.  It was a wonderful meal from start to finish and our service was as wonderful as always!  Of course, I think I used up all of my extra points on this one meal!  But....um...it was so worth it!  Our meal was C'est magnifique!

What are some things you thing are totally worth using up all your extra points on?