Baked Mozzarella Sticks

M has been craving Mozzarella Sticks for a few days now. Since the budget is tight, we decided to go ahead and make them. Since our waistbands are also tight, we went with a recipe that bakes rather than fries. I found this recipe on Kitchen Scrapbook (link!)

Baked Mozzarella Sticks

2 packages (5 oz each) string cheese
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 large egg whites
2 Tbsp. water
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs (I used Italian bread crumbs)
1 tsp. dried oregano (omitted)
1/2 tsp. salt (omitted)
2 Tbsp. melted butter (I used spray olive oil)

Marinara sauce

Remove cheese from packages; cut each cheese stick in half crosswise.

Combine flour and cornstarch in a shallow dish. Beat egg whites and water in another shallow dish until well mixed. Combine bread crumbs, oregano, and salt in a third shallow dish. Coat cheese with flour mixture. Dip into egg white mixture, being sure to coat thoroughly, including ends. Coat with bread crumb mixture.

Dip into egg whites and bread crumbs a second time, being sure ends are coated. Place on ungreased baking sheet.

Freeze at least 1 hour. Preheat oven to 400. Drizzle cheesesticks with melted butter. Bake until crumbs just begin to brown, 5-7 minutes.

Perhaps using the spray stuff meant we missed on something. These weren't bad, per se, but they weren't the yummy goodness we know and love as mozzarella sticks. The coating was a little bit on the dry side too... maybe because it was, um, dry.
It was a nice recipe, and something on which I hope to improve. The idea of making these up and then keeping them in the freezer for whenever is not only cheaper than buying them from the store, but also easier because I'm not so great at remembering what's in the freezer.

Pictures coming soon, although Kitchen Scrapbooks are WAY prettier than mine!