Cream Cheese Stuffed Jalapeños

It can be easy to fall into a routine at Thanksgiving - turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn, rolls, pumpkin pie.. why not spice up your holiday? Yes, literally. Live on the edge! Consider these bad boys for a fun appetizer.

I was browsing some of my favorite blogs and came across a stuffed jalapeño recipe on The Way the Cookie Crumbles. While her peppers were wrapped in prosciutto which gave them an added texture, I was hoping to focus on flavors. With the help of my awesome friend Jen, we did an experiment with several different flavor combinations and came up with the beauties you see here. I have always enjoyed cream cheese and jelly together and was glad to see it worked out in this form. We liked the combination of spicy, creamy, and sweet.

Some of the intensity does get baked out of the peppers, but they are spicy to work with in their raw state. You can throw on a pair of rubber gloves while you're slicing and seeding to keep your hands protected.


Ingredients
(This recipe is listed as gluten-free since most cream cheeses are naturally gluten-free. However, please check the label if you are unsure.)

• 8 jalapeño peppers, halved lengthwise and seeds removed
• about 4 oz. cream cheese or Neufchâtel cheese (half package)
• grape jelly

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place jalapeno halves on cookie sheet. Spread cream cheese into each the "cup" of each pepper.
3. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, removing when cream cheese has browned.
4. Top each with a small blob of jelly.
5. Place on a nice tray to serve or eat hot off the cookie sheet.  :)