Tomorrow is International Bacon Day!

Let’s celebrate with some bacon-wrapped peppers!!

Each season, I plant veggies and herbs in pots. I always plant jalapeños in the summer.  This year, the harvest was very abundant!  If you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen the post I put on there about these peppers.  I wanted to make stuffed peppers, but I didn’t want the basic cheese-stuffed, bacon-wrapped pepper.  I wanted to try something new.  I looked in the fridge and saw that I had cream cheese, and I started from there.

Here’s what you need…

Jalapeños, of course!

Light brown sugar, paprika, cream cheese, and bacon.

Cut your peppers in half vertically.  Try not touching the seeds, because they burn, especially if you touch your eye (fyi contact wearers).  Or, you could use gloves.  

I use this favorite tool of mine to scoop out seeds and veins. (post to come on this tool)  If you do not have a special tool, use a spoon. Make sure to get the vein under the seeds.  They hold heat, too.

Cut your cream cheese into squares.  It is easier to cut if it is cold.

I SWEAR by my Silpat.  It is a silicone pan liner that makes cookies turn out perfectly and makes for easy cleanup, too.  You don’t even have to grease it!!  I own several if that tells you how sold I am on them.  But if you do not have one, line a pan with foil.Okay, we’ve got everything prepped.  Let’s get this party started!  Mold the cream cheese squares, pulling and pressing with your fingers to fit into entire pepper boat.  If you have extra left over, just distribute evenly into each boat.  They do not have to be perfect, because we are about to wrap them up with bacon.

Go ahead and preheat your oven to 325 degrees now.  Wrap each pepper with the bacon, starting at one end, gently pulling to stretch the bacon all the way around the entire pepper.  If your peppers are smaller, just trim the excess bacon with a knife.  I save these bacon bits and fry them up for salads or baked potato toppings.

Okay this next part is what makes this so very, very scrumptious!!!  (The last time I made these, they were all gone in five minutes!) Measure out a cup of light brown sugar and add 1 tsp. of paprika to it.  Stir until it is well mixed.

Sprinkle this on top of each pepper until it is used up.  It is OKAY to let the brown sugar fall on the pan.  What’s going to happen is the brown sugar and bacon grease are going to make this amazing syrup you are going to want run the peppers through before eating.Bake them for around 40 minutes, depending on the pepper’s size.  Let cool and enjoy!

They would make a great appetizer to bring to a Labor Day soiree!

Bon apetite!

Toodle-oo,

Melanie

favorite kitchen tool, Silpat

P.S. If you like my blog, go to Domino.com and nominate/vote for me!!xoxo