Sunday, January 10, 2010

Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeno Thingies


Jalapeno's and cream cheese are not really my thing, but I know it is a pairing that many enjoy, and since I aim to please others I knew these would be very popular. And man did these disappear quick! These came together fairly quickly and easily, and can be made ahead of time. I made all mine up the day before, froze them, and put them in the refridgerator the morning of the party and they baked up perfectly.

I halved the original recipe, so I ended up with about 24 poppers. I also found that my bacon was sometimes too small to wrap, so next time I might just cut the slices in half.

Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeno Thingies

Ingredients
20 whole fresh Jalapenos, 2-3 Inches in Size (I used 12)
2 cubes Cream Cheese, softened (I used one, 1/3 less fat)
1 pound Thin(regular) Bacon, Sliced Into Thirds

Preparation Instructions

If you have them, slip on some latex gloves for the pepper prep… Cut jalapenos in half, length-wise. With a spoon, remove the seeds and white membrane (the source of the heat; leave a little if you like things HOT). Smear softened cream cheese into each jalapeno half. Wrap jalapeno with bacon pieces (1/3 slice). Secure by sticking toothpick through the middle. (At this point, you can freeze them, uncooked, in a Ziploc bag for later use).

Bake on a pan with a rack in a 375-degree oven for 20-25 minutes. You don’t want the bacon to shrink so much it starts to the squeeze the jalapeno. If, after 20 minutes, the bacon doesn’t look brown enough, just turn on the broiler for a couple of minutes to finish it off. These are best when the jalapeno still has a bit of bite to it.

Serve immediately, or they’re also great at room temperature.

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