Spicy Chicken and Cheddar Waffle Sandwiches

This recipe originally appeared on the Rachael Ray Show. For more recipes and videos from the show visit RachaelRayShow.com.

Ingredients

For the Cheddar-Pecan-Green Onion Waffles:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 3 eggs, room temp
• 5 tablespoons melted butter, room temp
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1 1/2 cups sharp white cheddar, shredded or cut into fine dice
• 1 bunch scallions, chopped, whites and greens
• 1 cup chopped pecans
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For the Spicy Fried Chicken Cutlets:

• Vegetable oil for frying
• 4 pieces chicken breast, 6 ounces each, pounded ½ inch
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon hot sauce
• 1 cup flour
• Salt and pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons granulated garlic
• 1 1/2 teaspoons granulated onion
• 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
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For the Maple Mustard:

• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup brown spicy mustard
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
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Fixins:

• 12 slices smoky bacon, baked on a slotted pan at 375°F until crisp
• Lettuce leaves
• Sliced tomato
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Preparation

Preheat waffle iron to high and a couple of inches of vegetable oil in large cast-iron skillet to 365°F over medium to medium-high heat.

Whisk up dry and wet waffle ingredients in separate bowls then combine. Prepare 8 waffles to very crisp (cook 2 batches on a 4-waffle iron).

For the chicken, set chicken cutlets into buttermilk and hot sauce for a few minutes. Whisk up the flour with a liberal amount of salt and pepper, the granulated garlic and onion, paprika and cayenne. Double-coat the chicken in buttermilk and flour, and fry to deeply golden, about 8 minutes.

Stir up maple syrup, mustard and Worcestershire sauce.

Serve chicken with bacon, lettuce and tomato on waffles drizzled with maple mustard and cut corner-to-corner.