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The holiday season deserves some spice and these festive Cranberry Jalapeño Poppers from Chiles and Smoke’s Brad Prose do just that. Fortified with creamy cheese, sharp cheddar, and tart cranberries, these generously filled jalapeño are wrapped in bacon and smoked for the ultimate gift. Fire it up and impress your guests or be selfish and make yourself a plate (we won’t tell).
Ingredients
- 8 oz cream cheese, room temp
- ⅓ cup finely diced cranberries
- ½ cup shredded white cheddar
- 2 scallions, diced
- 2 Tbsp cranberry juice
- 8 jalapeño peppers
- 16 slices thin cut bacon
Items You'll Need
Instructions
- Mix the cranberry cheese filling. Start with room temperature cream cheese and mix in the diced cranberries, white cheddar, scallions, and cranberry juice. Use a spoon to mix well, taste and adjust. You may add a little honey if you’d like it sweeter.
- Slice the jalapeños in half, lengthwise. Use a metal teaspoon to scoop out the seeds and membranes.
- Fill each jalapeño cavity with the cheese mixture and press it in. The amount of cheese should just come above the cut line of the jalapeno.
- Carefully wrap each with a single piece of bacon. Make sure the cheese is completely covered, if possible. This works best if the ends of the bacon are also on the bottom of the jalapeño, so they don’t unwrap.
- OPTIONAL: Place the bacon-wrapped jalapeños on a baking sheet in the fridge for 30 minutes, which helps the bacon to hold its newly formed shape.
- Preheat your smoker to 250°F.
- Place jalapeños on the grill cut side up and smoke for 90 minutes.
- Increase the heat to 350°F and grill the bacon to crisp for about 15 minutes or until it’s done to the texture you like.
