Baked Cream Cheese Jalapeño Wontons

When all my siblings were still living at home, Chinese takeout night happened every now and then…and by that I mean like once a week. We’d devour our absurdly huge mounds of food, possibly watch a movie or play a game, and then wrap up the evening with a little brother-sister-sister argument over who would get the final wonton after the other eleven were gone (yes, we bought two orders of six…every time). Now that I’m a refined adult (yeah, that) wontons have sadly gone all-but missing from my life. Until recently, that is, when the boy and I found ourselves at a restaurant that served jalapeno cream cheese wontons. In all my childhood wonton-consuming years, I had never thought about mixing anything with that smooth dollop of cheese. I mean, that’s just crazy. Crazy brilliant, of course.

My memory of these jalapeno wontons lovingly remains in the back of my mind always, but this week it catapulted to the front when the boy asked if we could make them for dinner. At those words, I magically appeared in a grocery store with cream cheese, wonton wrappers, and jalapenos in my cart, and ambition in my soul.

Crispy Baked Cream Cheese Jalapeno Wontons

Makes 10 wontons

• 1 jalapeno, finely chopped (you can use half…if you’re a sissy)
• 4-ounces light cream cheese (NOT Fat Free, or your wontons will taste like chemicals)
• 10 wonton wrappers
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon water

Preheat oven to 400.

Use a fork to mix together the jalapeno and cream cheese.

Dip your finger in water, and trace the edges of the wonton wrapper (this will help it stick together, just like with pot stickers).

Put a half tablespoon of filling in the middle, spreading it out just a bit so it’s not one big mound, because that will make folding tricky.

If you will be baking these around anyone afraid of spice, go ahead and make a few without jalapeno. How thoughtful of you.

After all your wrappers have a dollop of the enticing cream cheese filling, you have some decisions to make regarding folding. These are the two I liked the best:

Triangle: The old standard. Simply fold the wonton once, corner-to-corner, pressing out any air bubbles as you go.

Flower Bud: My favorite. After creating a triangle, fold the long side of the triangle over towards the point…

…and then bring together the two ends above the middle of the wonton, using wet fingers to press and secure.

Pretty cute eh?

Once your wontons are folded, whisk together one egg and one tablespoon of water in a small cup. Lightly coat the wontons using a pastry brush (or a dipped paper towel, but be GENTLE). This will help give the little guys a golden, crunchy tan.

Place on a greased/parchment-covered baking sheet, and bake for 10-12 minutes.

These were crispy, creamy, spicy, and a snap to make. Give yourself 20 minutes, from start to finish, and you’ll find your own wonton nirvana. The boy and I killed them, absolutely killed them. In fact, I need to admit something, because this is a safe place, and I trust you not to judge me [too much]. I’m not proud, but okay, here it goes. I made these twice this week. Yes, it’s only Wednesday. Yes, that means I made them two nights in a row. They just disappeared so quickly!

…And then I may have made more this morning before work so I could take pictures, because there were none left from last night. It’s fine, they were totally just for pictures…

…well, you know, most of them were just for pictures…

…crunchy, melty, wonton pictures…

…dang it.