Jalapeno Cream Cheese and Cranberry Appetizers

Ingredients

• Jalapeno Cream Cheese
• 2 medium (about 3 inches long) jalapenos, stemmed and halved
• 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese

• Cranberry Orange Sauce
• 12 ounces fresh cranberries
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup sugar
• Zest of 1 orange
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary leaves
• 24 water crackers

Directions

1. Add jalapenos to the bowl of a food processor fitted with mixing/chopping blade. Process jalapenos until very finely chopped. 
2. Add cream cheese to food processor and process until the jalapenos and cream cheese are well-blended.
3. Add all ingredients for cranberry orange sauce to a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until cranberries start to burst, 10-12 minutes. Let cool completely.
4. Add jalapeno cream cheese to a piping bag.
5. Pipe about 2 tablespoons of cream cheese onto each cracker. Top with a generous teaspoon of cranberry orange sauce.

Serves: 12 (2 crackers per person)

TEST KITCHEN TIPS:

• For a less spicy cream cheese, remove some or all of the seeds from the jalapenos.
• Remaining cranberry sauce can be paired with roasted turkey, heated and served over vanilla ice cream, or used as a condiment on sandwiches.