Baked Jalapeno Poppers

Total Time: 1 hr Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• 12 fresh jalapeno peppers, halved lengthwise with stems and membranes removed
• 6 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella cheese or 1 1/2 cups monterey jack cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 8 teaspoons emeril's original essence (posted separately by others members)
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup flour
• sour cream, for serving

Recipe

• 1 using your food processor, combine cream cheese, cheese, cumin (if using) and cayenne until well mixed.
• 2 in a separate bowl combine eggs, milk and 2 teaspoons of the essence (or to taste).
• 3 in another dish, mix together the breadcrumbs and 4 teaspoons of the essence (or to taste).
• 4 using gloves, fill each pepper with about a tablespoon of filling depending on the size of the pepper. i find filling all the peppers first before moving on to the next step works best for me.
• 5 dip each filled pepper into the flour, then into the egg mixture and finally into the breadcrumbs.
• 6 at this point the peppers can be frozen on cookie sheets. just pop into the oven frozen when you need them.
• 7 cook at 350°f for 30 minutes on a greased pan. easy release foil or parchment paper works well too.
• 8 to cut down on the heat when eating, serve with sour cream.