Eatingwell's Oven-Fried Chicken

My husband misses fried chicken....we're closely watching what he eats due to his heart problem. I found this recipe in EatingWell magazine and prepared it tonight. He was so happy! I changed a few things....the original called for just chicken legs but I used a whole, cut up fryer, with all skin and fat removed, and so I doubled the flour mixture. We had this with oven baked fries and string beans for a great meal. I'm not adding the marinading time to the prep time because you can marinate from 30 minutes to 8 hours, your choice!

• Ready In: 1 hr 55 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1⁄2 cup buttermilk
• 1  tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 1  teaspoon  hot sauce, such as Tabasco
• 2 1⁄2-3  lbs skinless chicken pieces, trimmed of fat
• 1  cup whole wheat flour
• 1⁄4 cup sesame seeds
• 2  teaspoons paprika
• 2  teaspoons dried thyme
• 2  teaspoons baking powder
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt (optional)
•  fresh ground pepper, to taste
•  olive oil flavored cooking spray

Directions

1. Whisk buttermilk, mustard, garlic and hot sauce in a bowl until well blended. Place chicken in a heavy-duty zip-loc bag, add the buttermilk mixture and smush it around to coat the chicken well. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 8 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 425°. Line a baking sheet with foil. Set a wire rack on the baking sheet and coat it with cooking spray.
3. Whisk flour, sesame seeds, paprika, thyme, baking powder, salt and pepper, then add to a large paper or plastic bag. Shaking off excess marinade, place one or two pieces of chicken at a time to the bag and shake to coat. shake off excess flour and place the chicken on the prepared rack. Discard leftover flour mixture and marinade. Spray the chicken pieces with cooking spray.
4. Bake the chicken until golden brown and no longer pink in the center, about 45 minutes.