Hard Cider Chicken + Dumplings

These fluffy dumplings are floating in a rich hard cider spiked soup of tasty chicken and hearty veggies giving you the ultimate cold weather comfort food!  

One evening last winter, during what we lovingly called the “polar vortex” I had a group of girlfriends over for dinner and I made chicken pot pie soup.  I love entertaining during the cold Chicago winter – it’s a fun way to keep people from “hibernating” all the time, and of course, it gives me an excuse to cook and try out some new recipes.  The soup I made that night was loosely based on a recipe that I saw in Cuisine at Home Magazine, and had all the components of a traditional chicken pot pie, including the puff pastry crust in the form of croutons!

Recently one of my friends asked me if I could create the soup again and post it on my blog so she could try making it and also share it with some of her friends.   I decided to switch it up a little, keeping most of the ingredients the same but instead turning it into Chicken + Dumplings.  The twist in this one, you know I like those twists, is the hard cider.  It gives the dish a really great, unique flavor.

I love this version too because it’s basically a one-pot meal (you’ll need a bowl for mixing the dumplings).  While this is a little richer than the original version, it is also a bit more hearty so it’s great comfort food on a cold winter day.

This recipe starts by browning the chicken to get it crisp on the outside, which also provides those nice brown bits on the bottom of the pan for extra flavor!  Then you’ll sauté the veggies, pour in some chicken stock, thyme and a little hard cider, add the chicken back to the pot and let it simmer.  Then you finish it up with big fluffy, floating dumplings and …..perfect, yummy comfort food!

Hard Cider Chicken + Dumplings

• Author: Kathryn |FoodieGirlChicago
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 40 minutes
• Total Time: 55 minutes
• Yield: 4
• Category: Chilis + Soups

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Description

Who doesn’t love fluffy dumplings floating on a rich soup of tasty chicken and vegetables?!

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Ingredients

• 8-10 oz boneless (skinless chicken breast)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 cups chopped carrots
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 oz The Anvil Sonoma Hard Cider or other hard cider
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 64 oz chicken broth
• 1 cup self-rising flour
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1 tbsp butter, chilled
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1/4 cup buttermilk

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Instructions

1. In a large dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts and brown for 3 minutes per side. Remove from pan, chop/shred and set aside.
2. Add onion and carrots to pan, cook for 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
3. Deglaze pan with hard cider. Add chicken, broth, thyme and bay leaf. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes.
4. While the soup is simmering prepare the dumpling batter by mixing flour, salt and paprika in a medium bowl. Add the butter and using a fork or pastry cutter, mix into flour mixture. Add egg and buttermilk and mix until a stiff, sticky dough forms.
5. Once you’ve finished making the dumpling dough, add the peas to the soup and stir to incorporate.
6. Using a kitchen teaspoon, drop large spoonfuls of the dumpling batter into the simmering soup until the pot is full or all of the dumpling batter has been used.
7. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until the dumplings are cooked (they will be firm to the touch when done).
8. Remove the bay leaf and serve.