Pepper Jelly Cheese Dip

The Pepper Jelly Cheese Dip is perfect for snacking. Made with shredded pepper jack cheese, shredded sharp cheddar and a blend of spices and herbs, refrigerated and then topped with Pepper Jelly. It is the perfect blend of creamy, cool and spicy and sweet. Serve these with buttery round crackers for the perfect scoop of deliciousness.

2 (8 oz) pkgs cream cheese, softened
1 (4 oz) piece sharp cheddar cheese
1 (4 oz) piece pepper Jack cheese
¾ cup Pepper Jelly, such as Stonewall Kitchen
¼ tsp. dry mustard
½ tsp. garlic powder
¼ tsp. ground cayenne pepper
¼ tsp. celery salt
½ Tbsp. dried minced onion
½ tsp. dried parsley
2 Tbsp. fresh chives, thinly sliced

For this recipe I recommend using freshly shredded cheese. I use a brick of the cheese and grate it on the thicker side. The thicker shreds are best for this dip.

Soften the cream cheese and whip on high speed with a hand mixer or stand mixer.

Add all the seasonings and herbs except the chives.

Add the shredded cheese a little at a time until this is all well blended.

Whip for 1 minutes on high.

Spread the mixture on a dish, cover and refrigerate overnight. I used about a 6" plate with little bit higher sides. When ready to serve, take from the fridge and let it sit out for about an hour before serving so its easier to spread on crackers.

When ready to serve, spread the pepper jelly all over the top. Then sprinkle the chives. Serve with butter round crackers. You can use more or less pepper jelly.

Cook's Notes:

• Splurge On the Jelly: I like to splurge on the pepper jelly for this dip since it is such a huge component of the flavour for this dish. If you’ve never tried pepper jelly before, you’re in for a treat. It has a great spicy kick but even if you aren’t into spicy foods, you’ll find the cream cheese in the dip mellows the heat quite nicely, so there’s a good chance you’ll still be a fan. Try some pepper jellies and see which one you like best. Stonewall Kitchen's jellies are worth trying first.
• Shred Your Own Cheese: If you need to save time you can certainly use the already shredded cheese, but I like to shred my own because I like a thicker shred for this dip. I think that this makes the dip taste so much better with the nice texture of the thicker shreds of cheese. I also think the larger shreds have more flavour per bite.

Make Ahead: One of the things I love most about this dip is that you can make it a day or even two days ahead of time. You just add the pepper jelly and chives right before serving.