Chicken and Dumplings

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 pound chicken breasts (or other chicken, but remove skin and bones when cutting up)
• 2 tablespoons canola oil

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 2 celery ribs, chopped
• 2 T butter
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 5-6 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 bay leaves
• 5 whole peppercorns

• DUMPLINGS:
• 1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup 2% milk
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted

• SOUP:
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (I've subbed sour cream and this worked ok)
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
• Additional salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• In a shallow bowl, mix 1/2 cup flour, salt and pepper. Add chicken, one piece at a time, and toss to coat; shake off excess. In a 6-qt. stockpot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Brown chicken in batches on all sides; remove from pan.
• Add onion, carrots and celery to same pan with 2 T butter; cook and stir 6-8 minutes or until onion is tender. Add garlic; cook and stir 1 minute longer. Stir in 1/4 cup flour until blended. Stir in wine and reduce. Gradually add stock, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar, bay leaves and peppercorns. Return chicken to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, 20-25 minutes or until chicken juices run clear.
• For dumplings, in a bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, whisk milk and melted butter until blended. Add to flour mixture; stir just until moistened (do not overmix). Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet; set aside and let rest for a few minutes.*
• Remove chicken from stockpot; cool slightly. Discard bay leaves and skim fat from soup.  Using two forks, coarsely shred meat into 1- to 1-1/2-in. pieces; return to soup. Cook, covered, on high until mixture reaches a simmer.
• Drop dumplings on top of simmering soup, a few at a time. Reduce heat to low; cook, covered, 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center of dumplings comes out clean (do not lift cover while simmering). Gently stir in cream, parsley and thyme. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.

*Giving the dumplings time to rest for a few minutes before cooking allows the baking powder to begin to produce gas bubbles. This helps dumplings stay as light as air.