Spicy Apricot Bacon Bites

I wanted to share the recipe for these delicious little tidbits as our second apricot recipe because, I'm proud to say, my niece, Kenzie (Sue's daughter), invented this recipe all on her own. 

This was her entry into the savory category for the apricot cooking contest and, I'm proud to say, she won second prize with it. 

She totally deserved it. These are so simple yet when you combine the ingredients they become totally addicting. You really do need to make these for your next BBQ. They are great when they are hot, just out of the oven, but they are also perfect at room temp. 

Please leave us a comment if you give these a try so we can let Kenzie know what you thought of her recipe!

Spicy Apricot Bacon Bites

Ingredients

1 large jalapeno, finely diced

1 brick (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

24 apricots (approx)

1 lb bacon

Directions

In a mixing bowl, stir together the finely diced jalapeno and the cream cheese until well combined. Set aside.

Half the apricots and remove the pits. 

Using a small spoon (or piping bag), fill each half of the apricots with the cream cheese mixture. **If the apricots are small you can press 2 stuffed halves together, if they are large, you can leave each half on it's own. You want them to be bite size.**

Chill in fridge while you prepare bacon.

In a large frying pan over medium heat, precook the bacon strips until the edges are just starting to crisp up but the bacon is not quite completely cooked through -- bacon should still be flexible enough to wrap around the apricots. 

Remove the bacon from the heat and set on paper towel to drain off excess oil.

Preheat your oven's broiler while you prepare the next step.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. 

Cut each bacon strip in half. Take half a strip of bacon and wrap it around a stuffed apricot, securing with a toothpick. Place on prepared cookie sheet. 

Broil under broiler just long enough for bacon to finish cooking and crisp up, about 2 - 3 minutes. You don't want to cook for too long as your apricots will get mushy. 

Remove from heat and serve. (Careful, they are hot!)

If the apricots are really big you can just set half a strip of bacon on top of it and cook as mentioned. 

I love the whole combination of sweet & savory together in one bite. The heat of the jalapeno is eased by the cream cheese and then the sweetness of the apricot. The bacon is just a tasty, tasty bonus. 

Congrats to Kenzie for her prize winning apricot recipe!

We hope you like it as much as we do. 

 

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