Non-fried "Fried" Pickles

Who doesn't love fried food?

If you raised your hand you are likely lying. Be honest with yourself. Fried food tastes wonderful - it just makes you feel terrible later on.

You can imagine how excited I was to find a recipe for fried pickles (one of my favorite happy hour appetizers) that didn't involve frying. It just took a bit of time to pull everything together.

Baked Fried Pickles

• 1 jar pickle slices
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 T Worcestershire sauce
• 1 t Tabasco
• 1 t garlic powder
• 1 t Cajun seasoning
• 1 t pepper
• 1.5 cups panko bread crumbs
• Ranch dressing mixed with Tabasco for dipping

Turn oven broiler on high. In medium bowl, whisk together eggs and flour. Add Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, garlic powder, Cajun seasoning and pepper. Mix well. Place panko bread crumbs in a shallow dish.

Dunk each pickle slice into the egg mixture, then dredge it in the panko bread crumbs. Place coated pickles on a wire rack set above a foil lined baking sheet. Tip - it's helpful to spray the rack with non-stick cooking spray to keep the pickle coating from sticking.

Place pan in the middle of the oven. Broil for about 3 minutes, then remove from the oven. Flip the pickles over, then return and broil for an additional 3 minutes.

Serve with ranch dressing mixed with a dash of Tabasco sauce.

So...are these as good as a restaurant's fried pickles? No.

Are they delicious and approximately 4,000 calories less than a restaurant's fried pickles? Yes.

Yum.