Baked Cream Cheese Jalapeno Poppers with Crispy Bacon Crumbs

What you need

• 450 g (1 lb) jalapenos, about 12, similar in size
• 225 g (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
• 60 g (1/2 cup) cheddar, medium, grated
• 4 tbsp chives, chopped, plus extra for serving
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 5 slices bacon, regular cut
• 20 g (1/3 cup) panko breadcrumbs
• 2 tsp butter, melted, or use bacon fat

Method

Restated from the original video

1. 1

   Fry the bacon in a frying pan over medium heat until crisp and browned, about 3 min per side. Drain on paper towels, cool, then chop finely.

2. 2

   Heat the oven to 200 °C (400 °F) with a rack in the middle. Line a baking sheet with baking paper.

3. 3

   Mash the cream cheese, cheddar, chives, garlic, salt and pepper together with a fork until evenly mixed.

4. 4

   Wearing gloves, halve the jalapenos lengthwise. Scrape out the seeds and white ribs with a teaspoon.

5. 5

   Fill each half with the cheese mixture, level with the rim and no higher, and set them on the baking sheet.

6. 6

   Stir the panko with the butter until every crumb is moistened, then mix in the chopped bacon.

7. 7

   Spoon about 1 tsp of the crumb mixture over each filled pepper.

8. 8

   Bake until the jalapenos are tender and the topping is crisp and golden, 17-20 min.

9. 9

   Rest for 10 min so the filling sets, then scatter over a few more chives and serve warm.

Imported from natashaskitchen.com. Recipe Grab pulled out what you need to cook it; the video stays where its author put it.