Spicy Shrimp Bites Recipe

Poppers are always a big hit at parties, and these spicy shrimp bites bump those up a notch in both flavor and spiciness. Jumbo shrimp is wrapped in crescent rolls and baked to tender perfection. It’s the perfect finger food appetizer for any party. The easy sauce combines the tang of cream cheese and ranch dressing in a spicy, yet sweet easy dipping sauce. You’ll want to keep the sauce recipe handy to go with other dippers such as chicken wings, crackers, or even a fresh veggie platter.

Keep in mind that the dipping sauce needs to be at room temperature to serve. It will firm up when chilled due to the cream cheese.

Spicy Dipping Sauce:
3 ounces cream cheese (small block), at room temperature
1/2 cup sweet chili sauce (see Notes)
1/3 cup ranch dressing
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Shrimp Bites:
1 pound raw jumbo shrimp, thawed
2 (8-count) cans butter crescent rolls
1/4 cup (4 Tablespoons or 1/2 stick) butter, melted but not hot
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 Tablespoon (about) sesame seeds
Additional chives for garnish, optional

Preheat oven to 375 F. Line a shallow baking sheet with a Silpat or silicone liner. Alternatively, spray baking sheet with vegetable oil.

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Place cream cheese, sweet chili sauce, and ranch dressing in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Process until no cream cheese lumps remain. Set aside.

Peel the shrimp (if necessary), but leave the tails on to act as a handle. Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels.

Open one can of crescent rolls. Separate the triangles, then cut each one in half from the point to the center of the opposite side so you have double the amount of triangles, 16 from each can or a total of 32 for both cans. Work with one can open at a time and keep the other chilled.

Dab a bit of the spicy sauce on the large end of each triangle. Place a shrimp across the large end, leaving the tail hanging out. Roll down to the point, as you normally would make a crescent roll. (It may look as if the shrimp are barely covered, but the crescent dough expands and puffs up as it bakes.) Place on prepared baking sheet. Space each of them 1 inch apart. Save the remaining sauce to serve.

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Stir the garlic powder into the melted butter. Baste each of the shrimp bites with the garlic butter and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Bake for about 20 minutes, until deep golden brown. Let rest for 5 minutes. Garnish with additional chopped chives, if desired, and serve with remaining spicy sauce.

Yield: 32 shrimp bites

Notes:
• Sweet chili sauce is sweet and spicy, as its name suggests. It looks much like a red semi-soft jelly with bits of red chile pepper seeds and flakes floating within. It is often found in the Asian section of most markets. Sweet Baby Ray also makes a sweet chili/wing sauce that is comparable and more widely-available. Either will work fine.