This isn’t Jamie Oliver’s version – although we are determined to try that soon, because it sounds delicious. Nope, this is a childhood favorite from Stephenson’s Apple Farm Restaurant. We loved it – farm-style cooking, with apple cider pressed from the farm’s orchards while you waited for a table, and apple fritters, always, for dessert. We miss it still. In 2024, one of the Stephenson grandsons talked to the Kansas City Star about his plans to bring back their apple butter for sale in local grocery stores, and we hope it works out – there is nothing better on a warm biscuit or fritter. In the meantime, this chicken recipe is heaven, especially on a cold winter night.
- ½ cup flour*
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 ½ cup water
- ½ cup dry powdered milk (it has to be dry milk – otherwise, the sauce will curdle)
- 1 whole chicken, cut into pieces
- ¼ cup butter
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Add salt, paprika and pepper to flour, mix. Dredge chicken in seasoned flour* and place skin side up in 9 x 13 baking pan. Dot with butter. Bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden.
Remove the pan from the oven and reduce the heat to 350 degrees. Mix water with powdered milk and pour it over and around the chicken. Cover loosely with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for an additional 45 minutes.
*Some say it’s silly to season flour because you’ll lose half the seasoning when the flour comes off during the cooking process. Instead, they say to season the chicken first, then dredge it in flour. Try both, and see which method you prefer.
Around Our Table 