DO NOT BE AFRAID OF THESE. Some people do not like peppers, and some do not like mushrooms! I promise that the mushrooms are entirely optional, and that the peppers are delicious and not at all spicy by the time you have gutted them and deep fried them. If you love cream cheese anything and just want an excuse to dip your toe into pepper eating, this is a great one to make, though I do not recommend eating all 12 poppers by yourself at once, no matter how tasty they are. Take it slow. Savor that raspberry dip.
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The recipe is as follows below:
Ingredients
About 12-14 jalapeno peppers. Bigger peppers tend to be a bit less spicy, so if you go for bigger ones you can do with fewer.
1 8oz package of cream cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 tsp Tajin (chili lime) seasoning
Optional: 4-5 button mushrooms
1 cup bread crumbs (just the regular ones, not panko or Italian) (you might need more than the single cup if your breading gets goopy)
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup flour (again, you might need a bit more if the flour gets gloopy)
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
Vegetable oil for frying
For the dip:
½ cup raspberry jelly
¼ cup water
2 tsp Tajin seasoning (to taste)
¼ cup flour
Instructions:
1. Optional: If you are using mushrooms, heat a little bit of oil into a small pan. While it’s heating, chop the mushrooms into very small pieces, then toss in the pan with a little bit of salt. Fry until soft and fragrant, then remove from heat and let cool.
2. Mix the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, and tajin in a bowl together until thoroughly combined.
3. Optional: Once the mushrooms are cool, mix thoroughly into the cheese mixture.
4. Prepare the dip by combining raspberry jelly and water in a small pot on medium-low heat. Once the mixture is warm, whisk until all jelly lumps are removed. Add tajin seasoning to taste, then slowly whisk in the flour until the dip is the thickness you want it. Turn off the heat, and set the dip aside to cool.
5. Divide the flour, bread crumbs, and milk into separate bowls. Combine the salt with the flour, and the egg with the milk
6. WEAR KITCHEN GLOVES WHILE HANDLING THE PEPPERS AND DO NOT TOUCH YOUR SKIN WITH THEM. ALSO BE CAREFUL TO WASH ANYTHING ELSE YOU TOUCH WITH THE GLOVES THOROUGHLY. Pepper oil is MEAN.
7. Cut the tops off the peppers and use a small spoon or knife (I had best luck with a fruit knife) to scoop out all the seeds and white parts inside. The white parts add to the spice so if you’re adverse to it being too spicy, removing as much of this as possible will help. Discard the parts you remove.
8. Stuff the insides of each pepper with the cheese mixture. Make sure the cheese fills the pepper completely, but stops even with the top of the pepper for a smooth top.
9. Begin coating your poppers. First dip each pepper into the milk mixture, then dip into the flour until thoroughly coated. Then dip them into the milk again, then finish off with the bread crumbs.
9a. Another way to do this is to skip dipping into the milk the first time, and go flour, milk, bread crumbs. This can help prevent the flour and bread crumbs from getting gloopy and hard to handle over time, but it also can make the coating slide off in the oil, so be careful.
10. If you don’t have a deep fryer, that’s fine! Fill a pan with vegetable oil a few inches deep. Heat the oil to about 360-365 degrees. If you don’t have a thermometer to test this, you can dip the butt end of a wooden spoon into the oil — if bubbles form around the wood and start to float up, it’s ready. If it’s bubbling hard, it’s probably too hot.
11. Fry the poppers 4-6 at a time in the pan, turning with tongs if necessary until they are golden brown on all sides. Remove carefully and transfer to a plate or baking sheet with a paper towel to soak up the oil.
12. Serve the poppers with the raspberry dip and ranch dressing, if you like.
The Cozywood Kitchenette 