Company's Coming CREAM CHEESE JALAPENO CRESCENT POPPERS

When we have people over to our house to watch a sports event on the telly, I start thinking days and days ahead of what to make.

Besides cleaning my house like a mad-woman, the second thing that's on my mind is what sort of snack can I make.  I dwell on it literally for days.   I mean DAYS.

I know, I know.  Too late to fix me now, I'm too far gone.

So in times like this when I'm having issues, these little guys are like my double dose of Advil for a "company's-comin- over-stressed-out" headache.

So easy.

Super good pop-in-your-mouth-I-want-more kind of appetizer.

Great with an Ice Cold Beer or Margaritas (a must actually).

Sweet, Hot, Creamy, Flaky Yum-a-licious.

And last but not least, pretty darn cute.

1 tube regular Crescent Rolls
1 (4 ounce) can Diced Jalapenos (you will actually only use half of this can)
3/4 (8 ounce) cube cream cheese, room temperature
1 Tbsp. sugar

Note:  The ingredients above make 32 little Crescent Poppers.  It's easy for a grown man to shovel about 8 of these in his mouth without thinking about it.  So depending on who you're having over, you might want to get another tube of Crescent Rolls and one more cube of cream cheese.  Don't worry about the Jalapenos, you will have enough for a second batch with this one can.  Unless you want over the top spicy poppers.

Preheat oven 375 degrees.

Cut your cube of cream cheese and throw about 3/4 of it into a bowl.  Now take almost half of your Jalapenos from the can and throw in with your cream cheese.

This is the type of jalapenos I can get at my local grocery store.  They are diced up really fine and work perfectly.  But if you prefer to use fresh Jalapenos, then go for it.  I just didn't want to get my fingers all spicy in case I need to rub my eyes anytime soon.

To your bowl with your cream cheese and Jalapenos, add your Tablespoon of sugar. 

To me, this sugar addition is important.  I like the sweet, spicy taste. The sugar is not overwhelming, it's just the perfect accent.  I mean really, anyone can add cream cheese and jalapenos to a crescent roll, but not everyone adds sugar.  It's our little secret.

Take your fork and mash it all up really well.  Be sure to incorporate all that sugar in really well.

This is where I like to do a little taste test.  I prefer a bit more spicy poppers, so I added just a bit more jalapenos.

These are not really as hot as they might appear, but then maybe that's just me.  So ya better test it first.

Set your bowl of cream cheese jalapenos aside for now.

Open up your tube of crescent rolls and place on your cutting board.

Separate them into two rectangles, it should look like this, with all the little perforations.

Now pinch together the perforations to create two nice rectangles.  Sometimes I like to use my little mini rolling pin afterwards, to make it a nice and smooth rectangle.



With the back of your spoon, spread half of the cream cheese mixture, onto one of the rectangles. Save the other half of the mixture for the other rectangle.  (You will have TWO rectangles per tube of crescent rolls.)

Get to spreading.

Once you've spread your half portion of cream cheese on one of your rectangles, start with the LONG end of the roll, and get to rolling.

Once it's all rolled up, you will need to cut your log into 16 pinwheels.

Don't be nervous, I'm not very good at math, but I've found a really easy way to do this so it all comes out evenly.

Get a sharp knife. Really sharp if you have one.

Cut your log right in half. Now you should have two logs.  Then cut those two logs in half, and now you should have four logs. 

Get the idea?  I'm so smart, I amaze myself sometimes.

So now you should have four logs.

Now, cut these dolls in half and now you have eight smaller logs.

I bet you didn't think you were gonna get a math lesson did ya?

Now of course, last but not least, cut these little sweet-ums in half.

You now have 16 pinwheel poppers.

Note:  This is where you could refrigerate these little guys if you wanted to make them ahead of time.  Then just bake them right when the Gang is getting antsy.

Place your 16 poppers, standing up, on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with Pam.  Don't forget this step cause you sure don't want to be prying off your stuck-on poppers in front of your guests now do ya?

Make sure you stand them up, with the cream cheese facing upward.

Aren't they so cute?

Pop these into the oven for about 13 minutes until they are golden brown.  Keep an eye on them, as each oven varies.

Once your first batch is in the oven, get to spreading and rollin and cutting the other rectangle. Man I'm bossy.

Once they are done, immediately slide them off the cookie sheet, onto a plate, walk that plate into your crowd of hungry guests, and hear the Ohhs and Ahhs.

Then watch these poppers, pop, one by one, into the mouths of your ever thankful house guests.

Thank you my little "company's-coming-headache-free" appetizers.

Now where did I put my icey cold Margarita?