Baked Coconut Chicken Nuggets

I've been on a coconut kick!  The use of my leftover coconut milk in my Roasted Root Vegetable & Coconut Milk Soup with Fried Sage inspired me to experiment in new and different ways.  So I decided to take the classic chicken nugget and dress it up a bit.  These babies are a hybrid between coconut shrimp and chicken nuggets, and are definitely a bit hit with the hubs for lunch.  The pup looked pretty envious as well....

Delicious chicken nugget dipped into that coconut milk soup.....good good.

Baked Coconut Chicken Nuggets (4 servings)

• 8 chicken tenders (aprox. 3 breasts)
• 1/3 c light coconut milk
• 1/2 c panko
• 1/2 c unsweetened coconut flakes 
• salt to taste 
• non-stick cooking spray

Cut your chicken tenders or breasts into little nugget-sized chunks about 2 inches long.  Place them in a bowl with the coconut milk and toss to coat.  Set them in your refrigerator and let marinate for at least 10 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.  Place a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet and spray with non-stick.  Combine coconut flakes, panko & salt in a bowl and mix together well.  When your oven is hot, remove the chicken from the refrigerator.  Individually take each chicken chunk and place in the panko coconut mixture, coating both sides, before placing on sprayed cooling rack.  Spray lightly with non-stick, then place in oven.  Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes until coconut is golden and the chicken is no longer pink when cut.  Serve with a light drizzle of honey or mix apricot jam and sriracha for a dipping sauce.