Ok, so here’s what happened.

I wanted to recreate a recipe that I had made YEARS ago that I had loved, and sent my hubby to the store to pick me up some pepper jelly.

He came back with – – cranberry chutney.

Soooooo not going to work for what I had in mind. So that poor jar sat in my cupboard for almost 2 years. It still had plenty of shelf life left, but I was tired of looking at it, and frankly, needed the space.

So it was time to put that jar of mystery sauce to great use! 😉

I had never had “cranberry chutney” before. So this. Was going to be interesting.

I opened the jar and gave it a taste to see what in the world I was going to be working with! It tasked pretty darned good, actually. A little tart, a little sweet and a bit cinnamon-y. The cranberry flavor was definitely there, of course, and it had quite a few whole berries present. So what in the heck to do with this stuff?? With all the football parties, tailgating, and Super Bowl….my mind went to football food! Yes. Seriously.

And the quintessential football party food being wings, which I happened to already have in the freezer, seemed like the perfect finger food to play with! 😀

So, that strange-o jar was finally getting used. Cranberry chutney. For wings. Ooooookay! 😀

I revamped one of my rubs to to coat the nine colossal, JURASSIC-SIZED wings I had left, and popped them into the oven.

(*Shown coated, before baking, in a 7 x 11″ baking dish.)

While the wings were in the oven baking and smelling heavenly, I gathered ingredients that I thought would play well with the chutney! 😀

Barbecue sauce was a no-brainer, along with some sweet-aged balsamic vinegar, and I thought that some spicy brown mustard and a little dark brown sugar would round everything out nicely. I added all of this to a small saucepan and simply simmered it to meld and marry for about 5 minutes.

And……WOW did it ever smell (and taste!) wonderful!!!! (I was major-league relieved!!) I had figured, that if worst came to worst and I screwed it up, that I’d just baste the wings with regular barbecue sauce and call it a day.

Ha! Why was I worried? 😉

This stuff was pure GOLD, baby! 😀

It was rich and thick enough to stay on the wings, and didn’t burn during those last few minutes to set the sauce.

I was MORE than pleased with the way they were looking.

What do you think? Lookin’ pretty darned good or what?!!

Just as much as you about now, I so wish that you could reach into the screen and just grab that one to taste!!

I know. The torture.

Because……

……OH……MY…..GAWD!! Were these ever delicious!! Freaked me out!!! 😀 These were some of the best wings that I’ve ever had in my LIFE. Definitely in the top 3! Soooo, the only downfall? How in the heck do I top these????

These babies are perfect for fall and would be a smash HIT at any upcoming football game or  Super Bowl party, Halloween, Thanksgiving and the upcoming winter holidays, or even just for movie night!

They’re sweet, but also have a fantastic kick! The cranberry is there, but not overpowering, the barbecue sauce pairs extremely well, the hint of mustard and balsamic vinegar pull everything together….they’re just damn good! 😀

I so hope that you try these!! They really were everything that I said they were! I only wish that I had DOUBLED the recipe! If making for a crowd, definitely triple this!! (And make sure you stash some away for yourself! Or you may not get any!!)

Happy tailgating, have a great time, and enjoy the games!! 😀

Yield: 4 servings

Sweet 'n Spicy Cranberry & Balsamic Barbecued Sticky Wings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 minute

Additional Time: 1 hour 39 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 55 minutes

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Ingredients

• (10) extra large wings and drummettes, thawed and patted dry (or approx. 15-18 small to regular-sized ones)

Spice Blend:

• 1 Tbl. smoked sweet paprika
• ½ Tbl. regular table salt
• ½ Tbl. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. coarse ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp. creole seasoning

For Sauce:

• 1/2 cup cranberry chutney
• 1/2 cup Sweet Baby Ray's Original Barbecue Sauce
• 1/2 Tbl. balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tsp. spicy brown mustard
• 1 Tbl. dark brown sugar

Extra Ingredients:

• 3 hungry friends
• lots of napkins!

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375º F.

In small bowl, mix together Spice Blend until very well mixed. Spray a 7x11 or 13x9 baking dish.

Sprinkle "ugly/bottom sides" of chicken pieces with half of the spice blend mixture. Place into baking dish seasoned side-down. Sprinkle tops with rest of seasoning. *Pieces will be well coated. Don't worry, it's not too much.

Pop into oven and bake for 50 minutes.

While chicken pieces are baking, make Sauce.

Add Sauce ingredients to a small saucepan, bring to just a boil, reduce heat to very low, and simmer for 4-5 minutes, stirring as needed to prevent the bottom from scorching. Remove from heat and set aside. Line a large baking sheet with foil and spray. Set aside to wait for chicken.

When 50 minutes for the chicken is up, remove baking dish from the oven. (Leave oven on.)

Place chicken pieces bottom side-up onto baking sheet. Spoon half of the sauce ingredients onto chicken pieces. Pop back into oven and bake for 5 minutes.

Remove and turn chicken pieces over. Top with rest of sauce and bake for another 5 minutes.

Remove chicken to a serving platter.

Let rest for a few minutes so no one burns their mouth! Serve very warm. (No extra sauce is needed for these as they are well-coated.)