Cranberry/Jalapeno Dip

First of all I would like to share with you all that this is my first post since getting contact lenses.  It is so nice not to have to grab for the readers putting them on and then taking them off to see distances and so forth.  That said, let's get back to this wonderful dip.  It is a crazy combination, I know, but it works!  It reminds me of Christmas with the red and the green.  As I am typing this, I just want to stress the importance of handling peppers.  Jalapenos are on the bottom of the scoville heat scale, but they can still burn.  While making the dip, one of the jalapeno peppers squirted and hit my face and it is still kind of burning so be careful, use gloves and please, please, don't touch your eyes (or other sensitive body parts) after handling peppers.

I have a party to go to tonight so I made a large batch.  I will post the recipe for the regular batch but if you want, just double the ingredients.  The dip is not spicy hot but it gives your mouth a warm cozy feeling and at the same time it is not sweet and is a little tart.  I have made this dip with both frozen (thawed) and fresh cranberries.  I prefer using the thawed frozen berries because they seem to be juicier and softer and gives your dip a pretty pink color.


Cranberry/Jalapeno Dip

2 pkgs. 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. Kraft Miracle Whip
1/3 c. sugar
4 oz. fresh cranberries, coarsely chopped (can use thawed frozen cranberries)
1 1/2 oz. finely chopped jalapenos (about 2-3), seeds removed (reserve for extra heat)
zest of 1/2 orange
1 tsp. mint leaves finely chopped

Whip cream cheese in a large bowl with a hand mixer on medium until fluffy.  Add Miracle Whip and sugar and mix on medium until will incorporated.  Add remaining ingredients and mix well.  Taste and if you want more heat, finely dice up the pepper centers (I usually add the center of one whole pepper).  Refrigerate.  Serve with graham crackers or vanilla wafers.

Here are the ingredients you will need

I pulse the ingredients in my food processor to save time.  This is the jalapeno pepper, cranberries, and mint.  This is how they should look after chopping.

After mixing all of the ingredients together, this is what it will look like.  If you are using the thawed frozen berries, it will be pink in color.

Grab a cookie and dig in!