» Jalapeno Bacon Poppers

Jalapeno Bacon Poppers

Posted by Tara on Friday, January 27th, 2012

Here’s the perfect appetizer for the Super Bowl Game – or anytime the men in your life need some “cave” time. These things are incredible. You won’t believe how good they taste until you try one. But I didn’t make up this recipe. I have to give Pioneer Woman credit for it. Did I mention it’s QUICK and EASY?

Ingredients:

1 pound thin sliced bacon
15-20 Jalapeño peppers 2-3 inches long
1 8oz package cream cheese – softened
Toothpicks

Remove bacon from package and cut the whole pound of bacon strips into thirds.

Halve the jalapeños lengthwise. Using a spoon, remove the lighter flesh which has the seeds attached. My firstborn told me to leave some seeds next time, but he loves HEAT. The heat is in the seeds.

Next begin spooning the cream cheese into the pepper halves. I used about a Tablespoon per pepper half. Then take one of the bacon cuts (1/3 strip) and wrap it around the pepper. Secure with a toothpick. Continue filling and wrapping the peppers. I had a small amount of cream cheese and about half a pound of the bacon left over. I’ll be getting more peppers on my next grocery run!

It works best to bake these babies on a broiler pan or some type of baking sheet which has an elevated rack. That way, the bacon grease can drain away from the peppers while cooking.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes. If you prefer your bacon extra crisp, place the pan under the broiler unit for a minute or two after baking. Remove when the bacon is cooked to your preference.

These can be made in advance, and frozen in zip lock bags, then baked when needed.