About this recipe
These jalapeño poppers are the perfect balance of sweet and spicy.
Home cook Brett Rudman loves to experiment and prepare comfort food with a creative twist. He said that this recipe takes a classic crowd pleaser and elevates it to give it that “Wow!” factor.
“It’s a party favorite that I try to take to the next level,” he said.
For the glaze, keep it simple with maple syrup, or elevate the dish with a pepper jam from a local market. For more advanced cooks, Rudman recommends making a homemade mango-pineapple-jalapeño pepper jam to glaze the jalapeño poppers.
Ingredients
Yields: 10 servings
Peppers
Yields: 10 servings
Filling:
Directions
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Fry or bake six slices of bacon until done (chewy and not too crispy), and finely chop into bacon bits. You can chop by hand or pulse a few times in a food processor.
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Drain the crushed pineapple, and press as much juice out as you can in a fine mesh sieve. Alternatively, you can use a tea towel or cheese cloth to really wring out the juice until the texture is mostly dry.
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Mix the cream cheese, pineapple, minced chipotle, garlic powder, ground thyme (optional), salt and pepper, and the jam/maple syrup.
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Place bacon on a parchment-lined sheet pan in an unheated oven, and bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 mins until the water has evaporated, but no browning has occurred.
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Split the jalapeños in half lengthwise and use a spoon to scoop the seeds out.
TIP:
It is helpful to cut them right down the stem, leaving a little stem handle on each halved pepper. -
Spoon the filling into the peppers, and wrap each pepper half with a slice of bacon. Secure with a toothpick.
TIP:
Safety note – count the toothpicks and make sure you remove them all after the peppers are finished.
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Bake at 400 degrees for about 22–24 mins so that the bacon looks brown and slightly crispy.
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Right before serving, turn on the broiler, brush the poppers with the maple syrup or pepper jam (heat the jam in the microwave for 30 seconds beforehand) and caramelize the poppers under the broiler until they are glossy and bubbly.
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