New recipe and cozy vibes are coming in real strong for Sunday dinner with my take on a true Southern classic: chicken and dumplings!

Using Spice Tribe’s Late Harvest Black Peppercorns throughout the recipe, they were also a great and fragrant finishing touch to this dish. Rich, homemade stock, tons of shredded chicken, and tender from-scratch flat dumplings all come together in this super hearty and comforting bowl.

You can definitely make a quicker version of this recipe using store-bought flat dumplings (you can find them in the freezer section of most grocery stores) and following the package instructions but I wouldn’t skimp out on making the homemade stock. So let’s get to it!

Serving Size: 6-8

Ingredients

Stock Prep

• 1 1/2-7 lb baking hen or whole chicken
• 2 large bay leaves
• 1/2 cup dried shiitake mushrooms
• 2 tbsp Spice Tribe Late Harvest Black Peppercorns
• 1 gallon bag of frozen veggie scraps (see note)

Flat Dumplings

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tbsp buttermilk powder
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp Ground Spice Tribe Late Harvest Black Peppercorns Single Origin Spice
• 1 tsp Bell’s poultry seasoning
• 1/2 cup fresh chicken broth
• 1/2 plain Greek yogurt

Chicken and Dumplings

• 8 cups chicken stock
• Kosher salt, to taste
• Ground Spice Tribe Late Harvest Black Peppercorns Single Origin Spice, to taste
• 2 tsp garlic paste
• 4 cups shredded chicken meat
• Prepped flat dumplings (from the previous section)
• Slurry (1/4 cup cornstarch, 1 cup milk)
• 5 sprigs fresh thyme, stems removed and leaves chopped
• Small handful flat-leaf parsley, stems removed and leaves chopped

Add All Products

Directions

Stock Prep

1. In a large stockpot, add the hen or chicken, bay leaves, dried mushrooms, peppercorns, and veggie scraps. Cover with water and bring to boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to medium and simmer for 2 hours, skimming the pot occasionally to remove excess fat or crud on the edges.
2. Strain and remove the chicken and set aside. Discard the vegetables. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the skin and break down the bird to shred the meat (I used both white and dark meat and saved roughly 2 cups of shredded chicken for another day and froze it). I also saved a quart of stock for the freezer.
3. The strained and skimmed stock will be used for the chicken and dumplings dish itself, so pour 8 cups of the stock into another large pot or back into (the cleaned and rinsed) pot you made the stock in. Set aside.

Flat Dumplings

1. Next up is the dumplings. You want to make these before making the base of the chicken and dumplings since you want them to dry out a little bit before cooking. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, buttermilk powder, kosher salt, black pepper, and poultry seasoning.
2. Use a whisk or fork to make sure everything is mixed well. Then, stir together the chicken broth and greek yogurt in a separate bowl and pour it into the flour mixture. Using a spatula, mix well until there are no more dry patches of flour and you have a shaggy dough.
3. Remove from the bowl and place on a flat floured surface, like your counter or large cutting board. Sprinkle generously with some more flour and then form into a ball, kneading a few times to make sure everything is in one shape. Roll the dough out into a rectangle-ish shape, and don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be perfectly angular, you just want it to be the same thickness. We’re going for rustic vibes here, so don’t worry!
4. Using a very sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut strips across the dough and then in the opposite direction, making small squares. Carefully remove them and place them on a drying rack and set aside.

Chicken and Dumplings

1. In the pot with the strained chicken stock, over medium-high heat, bring it back up to a gentle boil and season with kosher salt and black pepper to taste. Stir in the garlic paste. Using a ladle or spoon, scoop out any excess fat or crud that forms around the edges of the pot. This will be normal! Then fold in the shredded chicken and stir, making sure the chicken is heated back through.
2. Then drop in the dumplings, one by one, making sure to stir as you’re dropping them in so they don’t stick to each other. Continue this step until all the dumplings are in the pot. Lower the heat to medium-low and cover with a lid.
3. Cook the dumplings for 25 minutes or until they float and are tender to the bite. Once the dumplings are cooked, stir in the cornstarch slurry to thicken the chicken and dumplings. Simmer until thickened and fold in the chopped thyme and parsley. Serve immediately and garnish with extra freshly cracked black pepper.