Football season is in full swing, fall officially arrives this week, and that makes this a perfect time to give What’s Cookin’, Hazlehurst? a game-day edition.
Current September food coverage is packed with dips, sliders and other easy foods made for tailgates and watch parties. Recent collections from Southern Living and Allrecipes are both highlighting crowd-friendly appetizers and dips for football season.
So this week’s HN recipe is one you can put right in the middle of the table and watch disappear: Hot Honey Bacon Corn Dip. It’s creamy and cheesy with sweet corn, smoky bacon, a little jalapeño and just enough hot honey to give it that sweet-and-spicy finish.
Hot Honey Bacon Corn Dip
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Bake Time: 25–30 minutes
Servings: 8–10
Ingredients
- 8 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
- 2 cans (15 ounces each) whole-kernel corn, drained well
- 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1½ cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
- ½ cup shredded pepper Jack cheese
- 1 jalapeño, seeded and finely diced
- 3 green onions, sliced, divided
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons hot honey, plus a little extra for drizzling
- Tortilla chips for serving
Directions
Heat the oven to 375°F.
In a large bowl, combine the softened cream cheese and sour cream until fairly smooth. Stir in 1 cup cheddar, the pepper Jack, corn, jalapeño, garlic powder, smoked paprika and black pepper.
Reserve a little bacon and green onion for the top, then fold the rest into the dip.
Stir in 2 tablespoons hot honey.
Spread the mixture into a small casserole dish or oven-safe skillet. Sprinkle the remaining ½ cup cheddar over the top.
Bake uncovered for 25–30 minutes, until the dip is hot and bubbling around the edges and the cheese on top has melted.
Remove it from the oven and scatter the reserved bacon and green onions over the top. Finish with a light drizzle of hot honey.
Serve warm with plenty of tortilla chips.
HN Kitchen Tip
Don’t want much heat? Remove all the seeds and membranes from the jalapeño and go easy on the hot honey.
Want to kick it up? Leave some jalapeño seeds in or add a pinch of cayenne.
And here’s a make-ahead trick for Friday night: assemble the dip the night before, cover and refrigerate it, then bake it when you’re ready. Give it a few extra minutes in the oven if you’re starting it cold.
