“If it ain’t spicy, it ain’t good.” This is how I navigate the food world. There have been times when I have eaten a meal without anything spicy – no hot sauce, no salsa, no chili flakes – only to find the aforementioned AFTER I’ve finished my meal. I get truly upset; like throw things at the wall upset (just kidding). Because we all know that the meal could have been SO much better had it just been SPICY. Feel me?
Making these poppers is incredibly easy. My friend, Rachel, bought me a jalapeño corer for my birthday last year and, at the time, I wasn’t sure how often I’d be using it. Well, I can tell you I’m not eating cored jalapeños on a daily basis, BUT it has made my life so much easier whenever I make a tray full of these spicy appetizers.
If you don’t have a friend named Rachel to buy you a jalapeño corer for your birthday, DO NOT FRET – you can just use a knife 🙂
Jalapeño poppers can be jam-packed with all sorts of different cheeses and fancy (or not-so-fancy) fillings but this time, I decided to go simple and classic with nothin’ but cream cheese. Light cream cheese and wrapped in turkey bacon, to be exact, because I care about your waistline 😉 !
These are seriously the best apps to bring to a party. They’re NOT deep fried, covered in fatty grease, nor breaded. I told you I care about you!
And, of course, we can’t forget about the drizzle of sweetness to cut through the spiciness. If you don’t have honey or agave, feel free to just swap it out with a sprinkle of white or brown sugar.
Living life on the muy caliente side is fun and flavorful but I have to make sure I actively remind myself that having 12 jalapeño poppers to myself is neither healthy nor acceptable 🙁 . But, if all I have to do is power through a few tummy aches in order to thoroughly enjoy a tray of these poppers, so be it. C’est la vie!
- 6 medium jalapenos
- 4 oz. light cream cheese
- 6 turkey bacon slices – cut in half
- 2 tbsp. honey or agave sweetener
- cracked black pepper, to taste
- garlic powder, to taste
- Slice the tops off of your jalapeños, core them (if you don't have a jalapeño corer like mine, just use a knife), and slice them in half.
- Cut your 4oz block of light cream cheese into 12 pieces. Roll them to the size of your jalapeños and place them on top.
- Season the cream cheese with cracked black pepper and garlic powder to taste.
- Wrap the jalapeño with turkey bacon and secure them with a toothpick.
- Drizzle 1 tbsp honey evenly over all of the jalapeño poppers.
- Broil on high for 20 minutes.
- Take your poppers out of the oven and drizzle with the remaining 1 tbsp honey.