Apricot Mustard Baked Chicken

I know it must seem like I have a slight obsession with chicken, considering the obscene number of poultry-based recipes I manage to post on this blog. And I know I frequently write enthusiastic missives to go along with them along the lines of "This is my new favorite chicken recipe!" which I can imagine must get annoying. I can't help it. I love chicken--roasted, baked, stewed, and in every other cooking method under the sun. There's just something so cozy about roasting a whole chicken, making a good coq au vin, grilling some drumsticks slathered in a sticky BBQ sauce, or in this case, baking up a batch of thighs and drumsticks covered in a delicious, easy mixture of apricot jam and grainy mustard.

This is quite possibly, one of the easiest recipes I've ever had the pleasure of trying (thanks to Jenny Rosentrach's brilliant book Dinner: A Love Story for that)--you can do all of the prep work while your oven heats, making this a clean, 30-minute execution. Also? It's good. Really good. Give it a go and let me know what you think. xo

Apricot-Mustard Baked Chicken
Serves 4
Ingredients:
6-8 skin-on chicken pieces (thighs or drumsticks), rinsed and patted dry
Salt and pepper
¾ cup apricot jam
1 tablespoon grainy mustard
¼ cup water
Leaves from 2 sprigs fresh thyme

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed cookie sheet or baking dish with parchment paper. Place chicken on sheet, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bake for 10 minutes.

While chicken bakes, in a small saucepan over low heat, whisk together jam, mustard, water, thyme, and a little salt and pepper for about 3 minutes. It should be slightly syrupy.

Pull chicken out of the oven and pour sauce on top. Continue baking for another 15 minutes. For the last 3 minutes, place chicken under broiler on top rack, so it gets golden and crispy looking.