Spicy Bacon Jalapeño Poppers Food

BACON WRAPPED JALAPENO POPPERS

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
• Line a large baking sheet with foil for easy cleanup. Place an oven-safe cooling rack on top of the baking sheet. The first time I made these, I tried it without the the cooling rack and found that the grease from the bacon soaked into jalapenos, making them soggy and overcooked. I much prefer using a cooling rack.
• Begin by preparing the filling. In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat the cream cheese until it is smooth and creamy.
• Add 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, 1 clove minced garlic, 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper, 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika, and 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper. (The cayenne pepper won't make it more spicy, it just adds a boost of flavor. If you are worried about the heat you can skip it.)
• Beat all the cheese together until creamy and well blended. Set aside.
• Slice all the jalapenos in half vertically. Do not remove the stems, otherwise your filling will spill out the end. Be kind to yourself and wear disposable gloves for this step! Or just be very careful not to rub your eyes the rest of the day!
• Use a sharp serrated knife and a spoon to remove ALL the seeds and ALL the white membranes inside the peppers. If you want your poppers to be extra spicy, feel free to be lazy on this step! Most of the heat from jalapenos comes from the seeds and membranes, so the more you leave in, the spicier they will be.
• Use a small spoon or your fingers to fill each jalapeno half with about a tablespoon or less of the cream cheese filling. If you over-stuff, the filling will just overflow the jalapeno in the oven, so don't go too crazy. (Although if it does overflow, you end up with crispy cheesiness baked into the bottom of your pan, and it's really quite delicious.)
• Cut each slice of bacon in half. Wrap each stuffed jalapeno half with one half slice of bacon. Secure with a toothpick and place on the cooling rack that you already prepared. (At this point you can freeze for later. See notes.)
• Bake at 400 for about 17-25 minutes. Start checking early. The poppers are done when the bacon is as crispy as you like it to be. If you like them to be extra brown on top, you can move the oven rack up to the top level and broil for 1-2 minutes. Don't walk away!! Be prepared for your toothpicks to turn into little birthday candles.
• Let the poppers cool slightly and serve with ranch dressing! I like to serve these at parties because jalapeno poppers are super tasty served either warm or room temperature, so letting them sit out at a party is no problem.

BACON JALAPENO POPPERS

Steps:

• In a small skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until partially cooked but not crisp. Remove to paper towels to drain; keep warm., Combine cheeses; spread into each pepper half. Wrap a piece of bacon around each pepper half. Place on a baking sheet., Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until bacon is crisp and filling is heated through.

SPICY BACON JALAPEñO POPPERS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray. Place chile halves, cut sides up, on cookie sheet.
• In small bowl, mix cream cheese spread, pepper Jack cheese, onions, bacon and salt. Divide mixture evenly among chile halves, spreading filling out level with sides of chile.
• Bake 30 minutes or until tops are light golden brown and chiles are tender. Sprinkle with cilantro. Serve warm.

SPICY "LIL SMOKIE" BACON WRAPPED JALAPENO POPPERS

Steps:

• you'll first want to wash and trim the jalapeno peppers.Chop the stem off and slice the pepper lengthwise to expose the seeds and vein. Using a spoon, scrape out the white vein and rinse under water to wash away the seeds. The cream cheese will ultimately counteract the burn from the peppers, so leave a good amount of the inner membrane in tact if you want to feel the heat.
• In a mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, paprika and cayenne pepper. Using a butter knife, or a pastry bag, fill each jalapeno half with a generous portion of the cream cheese mixture.
• Top each one of the jalapeno "boats" with a little smokey.
• Wrap each of the smokey topped jalapenos with a half slice of bacon, making sure that the seam is directly on top of the little smokey. Secure the wrap by inserting a toothpick straight down through the overlapping edges of the bacon all the way through the little smokey. Stop just short of going through the pepper though, that way the cream cheese doesn't leak out through the hole.
• Since bacon already contains a good amount of sodium, you'll want to season the buffalo poppers with a sugar based rub. A nice blend of brown sugar and cayenne pepper works great on these bad boys as well.
• Cooking the poppers is a matter of getting the bacon done to your liking. My preference is smoke at 250 degrees for about an hour and a half. At this point the bacon isn't overly crispy, but it's definitely cooked enough to be bite through. If you prefer a crispier bacon, then I'd suggest kicking the temperature up to 300 degrees for about an hour. You'll want to keep a close eye on the peppers though. If they overcook, then they'll loose their stability and your poppers will spill out all over your smoker.
• once your poppers are cooked to your liking, remove them from the grill to cool down a bit before serving. At this point I would typically top them with a generous helping of Barbecue Sauce cut with a little cran-apple juice, but this time around I happened to have a bottle of hot raspberry sauce. I used this sauce a few weeks ago on some pulled pork sandwiches and was pleasantly surprised as to how well the raspberry flavor melded with the smoked pork, but this blew the sandwich out of the water. The flavor of the smokey jalapeno matches perfectly with the sweet fruity sauce, and of course it's heat is in good company with the medley of peppers tasted in each bite. A spoonful of sauce on each popper and you can guarantee these tasty treats will disappear in no time flat!

CHARRED JALAPENO POPPERS

Steps:

• Halve and seed the jalapenos.
• Roast on a hot grill just until skins start to turn dark.
• Slice the bacon strips in half.
• Fill the jalapeno halves with cream cheese.
• Wrap halves with bacon and secure with a toothpick.
• Bake in a 350 degree oven about 30 minutes or until bacon is done to your liking.
• Serve warm.

CHEESY BACON JALAPENO POPPERS

Steps:

• Put a pot of water, large enough for all of the peppers to boil, on. Preheat oven to 400 F
• Cut jalapeno peppers in half lengthwise; remove seeds. Place peppers in boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain well.
• Combine cream cheese, cheddar cheese and Worcestershire sauce, stir well. Place one heaping teaspoon cheese mixture on each pepper half. Sprinkle with bacon. Place on a baking sheet.
• Bake at 400 F for 5 minutes or until cheese melts.

SWEET & SPICY JALAPENO POPPERS

Steps:

• Cut jalapenos in half lengthwise and remove seeds; set aside. In a small bowl, beat cheeses until blended. Spoon into pepper halves. Wrap a half-strip of bacon around each pepper half., Combine brown sugar and chili seasoning; coat peppers with sugar mixture. Place in a greased 15x10x1-in. baking pan., Bake at 350° until bacon is firm, 18-20 minutes.