Vegetarian Times Baked Onion Rings — A Healthier Alternative to the Fried Favorite

I have found that "healthy" alternatives to more indulgent fare almost always fail to live up to their claims (for example, see my Note on Low-fat Brownies from 2009).  For some reason though, when I saw the Baked Onion Rings recipe in the latest issue of the Vegetarian Times, I immediately felt that I had to try this healthier preparation to the traditionally fried (and delicious) snack.  Generally, this might be a sign that my favorite fried foods — jalapeno poppers, mozzarella sticks, onion rings, and cottage cheese pakoras — have far too great of a hold on me.  

These baked onion rings were fantastic!  Crisp, sweet, and not greasy at all!  The preparation was a little messy (dipping the onion segments into the batter with my hands), but could not be simpler to make.  I now don't understand why anyone would fry onion rings — and risk a soggy, oily mess — when baked onion rings taste just as good, if not better!  The only caution I would have in making this recipe is to make sure you are preparing them for a crowd — I halved the recipe and still ended up with many too many rings for two of us who ate them.