Among Friends Thursday -Maria's Crunchy Cheesy Bites

I love snacks. Snacks don't love me. I tend to get carried away. Same is true for these addictive snacks. I played around a little with Maria's basic recipe--don't I always? Seems I never make the same thing twice! I am really trying not to eat the whole batch here today. I made two flavors and I love them both.

Rather than cheddar cheese, I used Pepper Jack. Mine turned out to be a little mild--after all, I do love some heat. So, for the second batch, I added some Jalapeno Salt. Wow. Is that great! For the first batch, I wanted to amplify the taste too, so I coated them with nacho flavored popcorn salt. Those are terrific too. I can't decide which are my favorites! The brands I used are Konriko Jalapeno seasoning (very salty so add just a tad) and Kernel Season's Nacho Cheddar Popcorn Seasoning.

These are the Nacho flavor, the Jalapeno Bites are in the top photo.



Just a hint: Mine did not take as long in the oven as Maria's recipe calls for. I was baking mine on silicon mats rather than parchment, so that could have contributed, not sure. I think my first batch was in only 15 minutes and the second pan was in for 20. Since ovens may vary, be sure not to set the timer and walk away. A few of  mine stuck to my silpat, but none even tried to stick to the regular silicon liner. Go figure!

If you want to try these delicious treats, go to page 93 in Low Carbing Among Friends. My best advice: as soon as they are cool, bag them up into portion sizes and hide them in the pantry.