Oven Baked Onion Rings

I've never really cared much for onion rings. For some reason in the past year or so I've started to want them. I'm generally disappointed with how greasy they are. I have this vision in my mind of what I wish the onion ring was and it never really quite lives up to my expectations. It's like I have some weird romantic chick flick in my head starring an onion ring or something.

When I first got my copy of Appetite for Reduction, I was immediately intrigued by the OMG Oven Baked Onion Rings recipe. Today I put on some Joan Jett and finally made some and let me tell you, they did not disappoint. Even James liked them and he doesn't generally like onion rings or anything with onions at all for that matter. Eat this with ketchup, barbeque sauce, hot sauce (we liked ours this way) or whatever.

These babies are really easy to make. I discovered that while Vidalia onions still made me tear up a bit, they aren't nearly as noxious as regular onions. So yay for that! This was actually a really fun recipe to make, too. Now I've just finished the bowl of onion rings that were in front of me as I was writing this so I guess I should get on with giving some practical information and whatever.

Here are some SJ tips if you decide to make these:

• When you take the baking sheet out of the oven to flip the onion rings, give them another spray of oil. It'll keep them from being too dry. 
• Don't try and pick up that same baking sheet with your bare hands to put it back in the oven. (Trust me on this one. Ouch!)
• Don't worry too much about getting a huge amount of bread crumbs on each onion ring. If you put too thick of a crust of bread crumbs, the coating will be a tad too dry. Not inedible or anything, though, so don't stress.  Just if you're thinking everything is failed because there is just a thin layer, relax. They'll taste fine that way.
• These are best eaten while hot. Let them sit for a minute or so after they come out of the oven just to firm up and then start loading them into your mouth like a champ.

Since Isa is awesome and posted this recipe on her blog, I'm going to repost it here for you guys. My copy/paste skills are out of this world.

OMG Oven Baked Onion Rings

2 vidalia onions (about a pound), or other sweet onion like Walla Walla

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 tablespoons corn starch
1 cup cold almond milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons olive oil

Cooking spray

Slice onions into 3/4 inch thick rings. Separate the rings and place in a bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel or something, to keep the onioniness out of your eyes.

Preheat oven to 450 F. Line a rimmed 12×18 baking sheet with parchment paper, spray with cooking spray and set aside.

Now you’ll need two bowls for batter and breading. If you’ve got large, wide cereal bowls that’ll do the trick. In one bowl, dump in the flour and cornstarch. Add about half of the almond milk and stir vigorously with a fork to dissolve. Add the rest of the almond milk and the apple cider vinegar, and stir to incorporate. Set aside.

In the other bowl, mix together the bread crumbs and salt. Drizzle in the oil and use your fingertips to mix it up well.

Assemble the onion rings:

Get a conveyor belt going. From left to right, have the onions, the flour mixture, the breadcrumbs mixture and lastly the baking sheet. Dip each onion slice into the the flour, letting the excess drip off. Transfer to the breadcrumbs bowl and use the other hand to sprinkle a handful of breadcrumbs over the onion, to coat completely. This may take a bit of practice. Carefully transfer each onion to a single layer on the baking sheet. Make sure you use one hand for the wet batter and the other for the dry batter, or you’ll end up with club hand.

Spray rings lightly with cooking spray and bake for 8 minutes. Flip, and bake another 6 minutes. Rings should be varying shades of brown and crisp. Taste one to check for doneness. Serve as soon as possible. With ketchup if you must.