Monday, March 12, 2012

Jalapeno Cream Cheese Swirls


Around here, everything is turning green. You might ask why.  Obviously, it's St. Patrick's Day in Hoboken.  (No, it doesn't make any sense that it's celebrated before the actual St. Patrick's Day of March 17th.  Let's just roll with it.)  A few weeks ago, my roommate and I eagerly sent out invitations to what is now our 3rd Annual St. Patrick's Day brunch party.  Of course this initiated a hunt for festive green appetizers.

As a part of my "research", I began poking around the Karen Cooks blog.  See, I was assigned Karen's blog for this month's Secret Recipe Club. Karen has quite an extensive list of recipes on her site.  As I was looking for appetizers, I kept getting side-tracked by other recipes that I wanted to try.  Chief among those recipes are these Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls.  They just look delicious.  But that's not what this blog post is about.  This blog post is about some spicy, savory appetizers.

Jalapenos give this appetizer a real kick, especially if you're not careful and add in a few extra peppers.  Apparently, some people at our brunch weren't huge fans of all the spice that I accidentally added(sorry about that!).  At any rate, I thought the blend of flaky, slightly sweet crescent dough, soft cream cheese, and heat from the peppers worked really well together to provide our guests with an unexpected (and green) hors d'oeuvre!

Jalapeno Cream Cheese Swirls
from Karen Cooks
yields 24 pieces

Print Recipe
  • 3/4 block of cream cheese, softened
  • ~3 ounces pickled jalapenos
  • 2 tubes refrigerated seamless dough*
  • 2 tablespoons sugar

* If you can't find seamless dough like I did, you can roll out the perforated crescent dough and gently press the seams together to form a "seamless dough".



1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2) Add the jalapenos and cream cheese to a food processor.  Blend together until fully incorporated.

3) Roll out one of the dough sheets on a lightly floured surface.  Spread half of the cream cheese mixture evenly over the dough.

4) Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of sugar over the cream cheese.

5) Starting at the short end, roll up the dough.  (Note: Karen recommends starting at the long end. I just happened to skim over that part and started rolling the dough up the other way. Oh, well.  It was just as tasty!)

6) Cut dough in half, then in half again.  Slice the log into 12 slices.

7) Place the dough cut-side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

8) Repeat Steps 3-7 with the second tube of dough.

9) Bake for ~11 minutes or until the dough is lightly browned.  Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before serving warm.


22 comments:

  1. I ate nearly half of these when they came out of the oven - they're addictive! Thanks for blogging my recipe!

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    1. Same here Karen...These things are dangerous! Tasty and dangerous. Thanks for the recipe!

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  2. Hi Ellie,
    Your Jalapeno Cream Cheese Swirls are a great appetizer that we would really enjoy. It is fun cooking with you here at the SRC and hope you have a wonderful week!
    Miz Helen

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    1. Thanks Miz Helen. It's so much fun cooking with you and all the other members as well. I love our community!

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  3. These look delicious! I would need to figure out a sub for the jalapenos.

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    1. Thanks! Hmmm if you are looking to stay within the pepper family you could use green chilis, which are only mildly spicy. By the time they mix with the cream cheese you would only get a hint of the pepper. You could also convert this into a sweet appetizer and maybe use a mixture of butter, sugar and cinnamon instead of the cream cheese and jalapenos/chilis. That would be tasty!

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  4. So easy and delicious looking, I can't wait to give this a try.

    If you haven't already, I'd love for you to check out my Group 'A' SRC entry: Broiled Sushi.

    Lisa~~
    Cook Lisa Cook

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    1. Thanks Lisa. I love sushi, so this looks so interesting to me!

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  5. The spicier the better in this house! Looks quick and I love that! I'm stopping by from Secret Recipe Club. I hope you'll swing by Seasonalpotluck.com March is artichoke month! http://bit.ly/zRfNjo I'd love if you'd link up your artichoke recipes!

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    1. I definitely agree. Spice is always welcome in my house as well! Thanks for the comment.

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  6. These rolls look divine! I had Karen Cooks last time and really had a hard time deciding on what to make. She has some lovely breads and this is one I debated on baking.

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    1. Yes, it was so difficult to just pick one thing but I finally settled on this and I'm so glad I did!

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  7. Those look really, really good. I'd almost want to try that with a pizza dough as well, but I imagine it'd be too thick.

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    1. I think it would be a bit thick, but it would be interesting to see how it turns out. One thing I want to do is repeat this with cheese and pepperoni. I think that would be delicious!

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  8. I can literally hear this one calling out my name ... sounds like a lovely treat!

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    1. You should definitely give this a shot. You won't be disappointed! :)

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  9. These would be great as an appetizer for a party. Great choice!

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    1. Thanks. I recommend it. These were snatched up in no time at my brunch party.

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  10. this is just delicious! and would eat them all in a few minutes for sure, definetly a crowd pleaser

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    1. My brunch friends would totally agree with you Beti! :)

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  11. I love these,they have a nice kick to them .Great for dinner party's or buffets.Always one of those things that you keep going back and grabbing more .Love them and could eat some now.Shame I'm at work .
    Kind Regards
    David Head

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  12. I would love these but my children would Finn them a bit to hot..Spices and chilli are now used in a much broader way in many different types of savouries and dishes. So keep up the ideas as its great for the people who love a kick with there food

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