Puff pastry Jalapeno poppers are a quick way to enjoy spicy and savory jalapenos. Imagine cream cheese, shredded cheese, hot jalapenos, and delicious bacon in one crispy parcel.
This would certainly be a lovely appetizer or side dish at a party or a Sunday dinner, don't you think so? The best thing about this recipe is that it's so easy to make.
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Add Jalapeno Turnovers to your tailgating menu
In my house, finger foods are always a hit, especially during the start of the football season. These handy morsels are perfect for single but satisfying bites.
They are a staple in tailgating and even in-home gates. Foods like this make football more attractive and fun. Personally, it's half of my motivation to watch football games on TV.
It's a universal fact that Jalapeno poppers are delicious. They are filled with cheese and enveloped with bacon, then cooked on a grill or in an oven. Almost everyone loves them.
I love them as well, but I have an issue. It is not an easy thing to wrap bacon around any food item. You should have patience and a handful of toothpicks. Most people find patience more complicated to provide than toothpicks.
This is a problem for me, but gradually, I solved it. The result of my experimentations was my puff pastry poppers. Don't be fooled, though.
Other people found this out as well. I Googled it. Nevertheless, it's okay with me because I believe that all people should know about this recipe.
By sharing my recipe with you, I am helping to spread the good news.
How to Make Jalapeno Poppers
Ingredients:
-
- 1 pack puff pastry (2 sheets in one package)
For the Fillings:
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1 cup Mozarella cheese
- 1 cup bacon (cut into bits)
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 12 pcs Jalapeno (halves and seeds removed)
Egg wash:
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon water
Step by step instructions
-
- Preheat your oven at 400°F.
- Cut your jalapenos in two, lengthwise. Then scrape out the white ribbings and the seeds. Be cautious doing this, as the seeds tend to fly all over the place.
- In a separate bowl, mix together cream cheese, Mozzarella cheese, bacon bits, and garlic powder. Stuff the fillings into jalapeño halves.
- Unroll the puff pastry sheet out to make it into a large rectangle. Slice into 12 pieces. Wrap puff pastry around stuffed jalapeños.
- Whisk the egg and add 1 tablespoon water. Brush the egg wash on top of the poppers.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until you see the pastries puff up and start to brown. Baking time will vary according to the size of your fillings and pastries. So, keep an eye on them.
- Serve and enjoy.
The Filling
What's inside of a jalapeno popper is what makes it good. For this recipe, I keep the base of my popper filling straightforward with shredded cheese and cream cheese. I put in my barbecue rub and a few garlic cloves. This makes my flavors stand out.
My recipe stands out because instead of wrapping my poppers with bacon, you will put the bacon in the filling.
The Jalapenos
Take note that any Jalapeno pepper variety can work for jalapeno poppers. Even so, I always do my best to choose the most uniform peppers when it comes to largeness and shape.
Bigger jalapenos mean more filling. I always emphasize the importance of filling.
Prepping Jalapeno
Getting the jalapenos ready is the hardest part of making poppers. Always make sure you wear disposable gloves because the pepper oil can be hard to remove from your skin.
Rubbing your eyes after handling Jalapenos with your bare hands is painful.
Jalapeno prep in two different ways:
How to remove the seeds
- The first method is to cut your jalapenos in two, lengthwise.
- You then scrape out the white ribbing and the seeds. This part is easy, but the seeds tend to fly all over the place.
I find that using a paring knife to cut out the ribs makes the task easier. You just then invert that Jalapeno half and tap the seeds into a ready paper bag.
Just scrape off the remaining seeds that stick to the pepper.
Going seedless is best for puff pastry Jalapeno poppers. The second technique is what I prefer. Although I am not certain if this one is easier, I'm more comfortable with it.
Just cut the end of your pepper off about an eighth of an inch below the cap.
Then, insert your paring knife between the skin and the whites and carefully cut it around the cap's edge. Be sure not to cut through the pepper itself.
Position your paring knife into the white ribbing and twist the pepper slowly.
Expect the seed cap to break up. This will make almost all the seeds fall out. Keep scraping until the seeds and ribbing are gone.
You can then slice the peppers lengthwise.
Stuffing the peppers and wrapping with puff pastry
When the pepper prep is done, you build your Jalapeno poppers in puff pastry next. In my book, this is the easiest step of all.
Fill every Jalapeno pepper half with as much filling as it can hold. Be generous and overfill the halves.
Don't worry! The puff pastry will hold everything together.
Flour a clean, flat work surface. Get your puff pastry and roll it out with your rolling pin to make it thinner.
Once you are satisfied with the thinness, which is about an eighth of an inch, get your pizza cutter and slice the pastry into 12 equal squares.
Place one stuffed Jalapeno, stuffing face down, on a pastry square diagonally. Wrap the pepper and seal the edges of the pastry.
You can use water to seal the pastry edges.
Another cooking option
How to smoke Jalapeno poppers
- Ready your smoker by setting it to 350 degrees. You can also use your oven by placing a sheet pan at the bottom with your choice's woodchips.
- When you're ready to smoke, put two to three tablespoons of water on the woodchips so they won't burn. You can then put the wrapped poppers on a baking sheet and place the sheet over the wood chip tray.
- Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil and spray the foil with cooking spray. When all the Jalapenos are wrapped and ready, place them on the baking sheet pan and brush the pastry with some egg wash. [You can also opt for baking paper or parchment paper.
- Once the poppers are done, remove the poppers from the smoker. Place them on a cooling rack for about ten minutes. If you have guests, tell them to be careful because the filling of the puff pastry Jalapeno poppers might still be hot.
These Jalapeno cheese puffs are bursting with flavor. You need a lot of patience to wait about 20 minutes for the pastries to puff up and turn a beautiful golden brown.
While waiting, you can make your favorite dipping sauce. My favorite is to mix Japanese mayonnaise with some Korean red pepper paste, ketchup, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder.
Interesting dessert recipes
Full Recipe
Puff Pastry Jalapeno Poppers Recipe
Equipments:
- Oven
Ingredients:
- 1 pack puff pastry
For the Fillings:
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1 cup Mozarella cheese
- 1 cup bacon (cut into bits)
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 12 pcs Jalapeno (halves and seeds removed)
Egg wash:
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions:
- Preheat your oven at 400°F.
- Cut your jalapenos in two, lengthwise. Then scrape out the white ribbings and the seeds. Be cautious doing this, as the seeds tend to fly all over the place.
- In a separate bowl, mix together cream cheese, Mozzarella cheese, bacon bits, and garlic powder. Stuff the fillings into jalapeño halves.
- Unroll the puff pastry out to make it into a large rectangle. Slice into 12 pieces. Wrap puff pastry around stuffed jalapeños.
- Whisk the egg and add 1 tablespoon water. Brush the egg wash on top of the poppers.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until you see the pastries puff up and start to brown. Baking time will vary according to the size of your fillings and pastries. So, keep an eye on them.
- Serve and enjoy.
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Nutrition Information:
Please note that all nutrition information are just estimates. Values will vary among brands, so we encourage you to calculate these on your own for most accurate results.
