Baked Jalapeño Poppers

Jalapeños poppers are one of my favorite things to eat, but I don't ever want to eat them often because they are best fried, and the doctor says thats not good for the heart!! So when my grandmas cook book led me to this recipe I got pretty excited! They contain a super big punch in nutrients as well as a punch in the taste buds. A small jalapeño contains around 4 calories, has 17 mg of Vitamin A, which helps support the skin as well as the eyes. And when I say a punch to the taste buds, mine got knocked out after eating only 2 poppers! This recipe called for 6 Jalapeños or 12 Poppers, so I had quite a few leftovers. I would recommend making this for a party or small get together or a manly contest of who will burn the inside of their mouth the most.

Final Product! So good, So spicy!!

Utensils Needed:

3 shallow bowls

Plate

Fork

Measuring Cups

Measuring Spoons

Sharp knife

Cutting board

Baking dish

Ingredients for Poppers:

3/4 Cup Italian Bread Crumbs

1/4 teaspoon Cheyenne Pepper, for breading

1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper

1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder

1 Egg, 2 Egg Whites

1/2 Cup Whole Wheat Flour

4 Tablespoons Low-Fat Cream Cheese

2 1/2 Tablespoons Skim Milk

1/2 Cup Low-Fat Mexican Blend Cheese

1/2 teaspoon Cheyenne Pepper, for filling

1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder, for filling

6 Jalapenos, Veined & Seeded

This calls for three stations to be set up or made assembly line style, so make sure you have adequate counter space. 1 station for flour, 1 station for eggs, and a final station for bread crumbs. Just make sure you rinse and dry your fingers between stations or else the last station may end up globs. And also remember to wash your hands, thoroughly, after touching any jalapeños! 

Jalapeño Popper Recipe:

First step is to preheat the oven to 420 degrees. Then set up the three separate stations.

Station #1 consists of a plate and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour.

Check! Station One Complete

Station #2 needs a little lovin'. Crack a whole egg into a shallow bowl. Then crack two eggs and put just the whites in. The best way to do this is to hold one half of the cracked egg with the yolk and all and then transfer the yolk back and forth between the shells until all of the white has fallen out. The easiest way to do it, is simply crack the egg in half and pour it out into a slightly loose hand and let the whites flow between your fingers haha. Then using the fork as a whisk, beat the egg whites and the whole egg together, but not so long that they get stiff. Just mix them until they are one consistency.

Before mixed, Check Station Two is Done!

Station 3,  Step 1

Station 3, Step 2

Station #3 is the most work, but not even a little work is needed. First place 3/4
Italian Style bread crumbs into a shallow bowl. Then add 1/4 teaspoon cheyenne pepper, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder. Mix this all thoroughly and BAMM! Station #3 is complete!!

When the three stations are complete, set them in an assembly style line and place aside while you cut the peppers and make the cheesy filling to go inside the jalapeños.

Assembly line, ready to go

Party Style, 12 Poppers before stuffing

Next thing to do is prep the peppers. If you think you can handle a lot of heat I would recommend leaving a few seeds in the pepper, if you dare! BAHAHA Also I read somewhere that the hot taste is most concentrated in the white part of the vein, so if you are feeling eager, try leaving a bit more white in the pepper. As for me, I pulled all the seeds and cut almost all of the white parts out. And it still had quite a bit of heat!!

The next part goes rather quickly. The cheesy filling that will go inside the peppers, I found were somewhat of a neutralizer in my mouth. We are going to add about 4 to 5 Tablespoons of low-fat cream cheese to a bowl. To that we will add 2 1/2 Tablespoons skim milk. I made two easy healthy switches here to my grandmas recipe. I switched low-fat cream cheese for regular cream cheese and skim milk as opposed to whole milk. 

To this we will be adding 1/2 cup of low fat Mexican blend cheese. The recipe called for 1/2 cup cheddar and 1/2 cup Monterey jack, but I just used 1/2 cup all together. I didn't want them to be too greasy. Then we are going to mix these three ingredients together before we add a few seasonings.

Once that is nice and stirred right up, we will add 1/2 teaspoon of cheyenne pepper as well as 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder. This will change the color from a whitish to a peach color. This next step was really fun for me. I love to bake, so using some tips from that came in handy!! I put this gooey mixture into a sandwich baggy and cut the tip off one of the corners. This was a perfect way to put an even amount of this yumminess inside each spicy pepper!

Half on the right side have been smoothed off at the top

Cover popper in flour

Dunk in egg bath

Now that we are at this step is the part where help could come in handy, if must be. Otherwise I just rinsed and dried my hand between every few dips. This part was actually the most fun for me haha. First take the popper and dip it in the flour. Then once you roll it around and completely cover it in said flour, submerge it in the egg bath. Roll it around until it is completely covered in egg and then place it in the bread crumb mixture. 

This is the part where my hands started getting messy. So after the pepper took its egg bath, I rinsed and dried my hands completely.

Poppers in several stages of completion. The ones on the tray are ready for oven

Then you roll the egg covered pepper in the bread crumb mixture. I think this is another step where the punch gets more packed.

These are completed poppers ready for the oven.

Once you have coated all the poppers, place them on a baking tray and place in preheated oven for approximately 25 minutes. Once the timer has beeped check on them, if they are crispy to the touch and a golden brown, they are probably done! Like I said I could only eat two poppers before I had to tap. I even had to dip the second one in a bit of ranch, which still did not help the heat. 

If anyone has any suggestions as to make this recipe more healthy, feel free to leave a comment or two! Thanks for reading through one of mu favorite snack recipes!