Whataburger Honey Butter Chicken Sandwich
[Vegan]

For the Biscuits:

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C or gas mark 8).
2. Combine the plant milk and apple cider vinegar in a small bowl, let it sit for 5 minutes to thicken for a vegan buttermilk. Meanwhile, add the flour, sugar, salt, and nutritional yeast to a large bowl and stir to combine. Grate the frozen vegan butter into the dry ingredients, or use a pastry cutter or fork and break up the butter into pea-size pieces.
3. Make a well in the flour-butter mixture, then pour in the vegan buttermilk. Fold together with a wooden spoon until just mixed, being careful not to over work the dough. It will be quite shaggy. That’s okay, it will come together with the next step!
4. Lay out the dough on a floured work surface and sprinkle a bit more flour onto the dough. With floured hands flatten it out, or rub some flour on a rolling pin and roll out the dough into a rectangle about ¾ to 1 inch (2 to 2.5 cm) thick. Fold the dough over itself like a letter for an envelope, so fold one-third over toward the center, then the other side over the rest of the dough. Gently flatten it by hand or rolling pin, turn it 90 degrees, and repeat that process four more times. Keep the flour handy in case the dough is still sticky.
5. Once the dough has been folded and flattened or rolled to ¾ inch (2 cm) thick, get a 3- or 3½-inch (7.5- or 9-cm) cookie cutter, lightly flour it, and cut out some biscuits. Don’t twist the cookie cutter as this can prevent the biscuits from rising. Once all the available area has been cut out, take the scraps, reroll them, and cut out more biscuits. There should be six to eight depending on the size.
6. Add the biscuits to a parchment-lined baking sheet and make sure they are touching each other ever so slightly. This will help them rise as well! Throw them in the oven for 7 to 8 minutes, or until the tops start to brown. Pull them out and brush the tops with half of the melted vegan butter. Add them back into the oven for 5 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown. Remove from the oven and brush with the rest of the melted vegan butter.

For the Chick’n:

1. Form three (3-oz, or 85-g) chick’n patties from the vegan chick’n the same size as the biscuits. If using thawed storebought vegan chick’n, add the patties to a parchment-lined baking sheet and throw in the freezer for 1 hour to firm up.
2. Prepare the dredging stations by simply combining the ingredients for each batter in separate bowls.
3. Heat a large pot of neutral oil (e.g., peanut, vegetable, or canola) to 375°F (190°C).
4. Once the oil is up to 375°F (190°C), dredge your patties in the wet batter, then the dry batter, and then repeat for a double dredge. Shake off any excess flour and batter and be sure to get total coverage on each phase. Place carefully in the hot oil and fry for 4 to 5 minutes, until golden brown. Let them rest on a cooling rack.

For the Honey Butter:

1. There are lots of options for the honey butter! Maple syrup, date syrup, and agave can all be used instead of bee honey.
2. Heating the maple syrup or agave and reducing for a more honey-like texture is a good move, but it will still be super good without that step. For the honey butter, simply combine whatever vegan honey is desired with the butter—that’s it!

For the Assembly:

1. Add a fried chick’n patty to a biscuit, and drizzle generously with the honey butter.
2. Add the top biscuit and ENJOY!