Gary Crane | Victoria EC

Holy jalapeños, these are good. I’m not lying—I devoured four during recipe testing. (That’s right, four.) No need to worry about too much spice when baking these up. The seeds are removed, and the peppers are stuffed with a cheesy pecan mixture that softens the heat.

—Vianney Rodriguez, Food Editor

10 large jalapeño peppers
1 package cream cheese (8 ounces), softened
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 green onions, minced
1/4 cup medium-heat red salsa
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or 2 cloves garlic, diced
1/4 teaspoon orange or lemon zest
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.

2. Slice the top off each jalapeño and slice in half lengthwise. Remove seeds and place jalapeños on prepared baking sheet.

3. Bake jalapeños 30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool 10 minutes.

4. In a bowl, stir together cream cheese, pecans, green onions, salsa, salt, cumin, garlic and zest until combined.

5. Fill each jalapeño half with cream cheese filling and return to baking sheet.

6. Sprinkle jalapeños with cheddar, return to oven and bake 10 minutes. Serve warm.

Makes 20 halves.