Step 1

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with tine foil and top with a cooling or baking rack. Spray the rack with cooking spray so the chicken won’t stick to it.

Step 2

In a bowl combine the bread crumbs, garlic & onion powders, brown sugar, cayenne pepper, salt & pepper. Stir to combine. In another bowl pour the flour, and lastly in another bowl whisk the egg with about 2 tablespoons of water to create your egg wash.

Step 3

If your chicken breasts are thick, butterfly them by taking your knife and slicing through the chicken width-wise so you have two halves of chicken then you can open like a book. If your chicken is not overly thick, there’s no need to butterfly them thinner. Next, cut the chicken into nuggets and strips. They do not need to be the same shape, I actually like making my various shapes/lengths.

Step 4

To bread the chicken nuggets, coat each chicken piece in the flour, then the egg wash, then lastly the spicy bread crumbs. Place on top of the rack on your baking sheet and drizzle each piece with olive oil. Bake for 15-17 minutes until the chicken is no longer pink. For my oven, 15 minutes was good. Remove from the oven and if you like extra spicy give each chicken nugget a sprinkle of a little more cayenne.

Step 5

While the chicken is baking, make the blue cheese dipping sauce. In a medium pot over medium heat, add the half & half and heat until you see a little steam coming off the cream. It doesn’t need to be bubbling, you just want it hot enough to melt the cheese. Whisk in the flour, then add the blue cheese and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Pour into a serving bowl and let cool.