Micah A. Leal
The all-in-one finger food for a party, our Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers are simply the best that you’ll find. The filling for these peppers is ultra savory with garlic powder and Worcestershire sauce giving a mouth-smacking layer of flavor to the tang of cream cheese and the punchy sharpness of cheddar. While all of these things are mixed together and stuffed into the hollowed out halves of jalapeño peppers, the greatest upgrade for this bite-sized snack is its outer layer. Each stuffed pepper is surrounded in a band of high-quality bacon, adding a chewy and smoky exterior to an already decadent stuffed pepper. In the oven, the fat that renders from the bacon conducts heat onto the surface of the pepper, encouraging it to blister and char in places while the rest of the pepper cooks through. The end result is a tender and mildly spicy snack stuffed with a creamy filling that balances the jalapeño’s heat alongside the chewy richness of delicious bacon. You can assure guests that you removed the seeds of the peppers, so they shouldn’t be too hot to enjoy. Put these out alongside other snacks and watch them disappear at an alarming rate.
How to Make It
Step 1
Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
Step 2
With a hand mixer, beat together cream cheese, cheddar, garlic powder, kosher salt, and Worcestershire sauce. Fill each of the hollowed jalapeño halves with 1 tablespoon of the cheese mixture.
Step 3
Cut each slice of bacon in half so there are 16 shorter pieces of bacon. Wrap each jalapeño in a piece of bacon and insert a toothpick to hold the bacon in place; transfer to prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining stuffed jalapeños.
Step 4
Bake until bacon is cooked through and the cheese begins to brown in spots, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before removing toothpicks. Transfer to a serving platter and garnish with fresh dill if desired.
