Super Easy and Tastes Like Cracker Barrel’s Version!
This is a great recipe when you are in a hurry and don’t have time to cook a chicken.
2 T. butter
2-1/4 c. White Lily self rising flour, divided
6 cups Swanson chicken broth, divided
pinch of ground thyme
1/4 c. Crisco
1/4 t. black pepper
1/2 c. milk
2 c. cooked chicken, torn in LARGE pieces
Melt butter in Dutch oven. Whisk in 1/4 c. flour.
Reserve 1/2 c. broth for dumplings.
Gradually stir remaining 5-1/2 cups broth, and thyme, into Dutch oven.
Bring to a boil, and remove from heat.
Place 2 c. flour in large bowl.
Cut in shortening with pastry cutter, or your fingers.
Stir in reserved 1/2 c. chicken broth just until dough leaves sides of bowl.
Turn dough onto lightly floured surface.
Knead 2-3 times.
Roll dough to 1/8 thickness (no thicker, it will puff up)
Cut dough into 2 x 1 inch strips.
Return broth to a boil.
Carefully add dough strips to boiling broth, stirring to keep them separate
Reduce heat to low.
Cover and simmer 15 minutes or until dumplings are cooked through, stirring every 5 minutes.
Stir in pepper and milk.
Simmer 5 minutes.
Here’s where you can play around with it a little. Depending on your chicken broth, you may want to add up to a teaspoon of granular chicken bouillon, or chicken better than bouillon.
If needed, you can thin it out with a little more broth, or thicken it with a little more flour or cornstarch, mixed with some of the broth then added.
Once you have the dumplings just like you like them, add the chicken, being careful not to break it up, and heat through.
If possible, let chicken mixture “rest” for 20 minutes for flavors to develop.
Garnish with chopped parsley, if desired.
Adapted from White Lily Flour
