Cranberry Jalapeno Dip

While searching for an appetizer to make for Christmas Eve this recipe kept coming up over and over on Pinterest. It seemed festive (red, green, and white) as well as seasonal (cranberries), and it was simple enough that if it ended up not tasting good, then it was easy to just pick something else up.

This was a big hit at the Christmas Eve party, just the right mix of sweet and spicy.

Recipe from Sparrow and Lily. 

Ingredients:

-12 oz fresh, uncooked cranberries

-1/4 cup green onion

-1-2 fresh jalapeno peppers

-1 Cup sugar

-1 Tbsp. lemon juice

-1/8 tsp. salt

-16 oz. neufchatel cheese (whipped)
-Ritz crackers for serving

To start, hand chop the cranberries, you don't want to pulverize them in the food processor, because it will liquify the cranberries too much.

Once you're done chopping the cranberries, chop the green onion, and jalapeno peppers. In a medium-sized bowl, add chopped cranberries, green onion, and jalapenos. Then add the sugar, lemon juice, and salt to the bowl and stir together until blended.

Put in the bowl in the fridge for a few hours and before serving, strain out all liquid that may have come out of the cranberries while everything was marinating.

Whip softened neufchatel cheese with hand mixer until smooth (about 2 minutes) and spread the softened cheese over bottom of a pie plate or 9x9 dish. Pour cranberry mixture over the neufchatel cheese and keep in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Use a spoon to spread over Ritz crackers and enjoy!