"Naughty And Nice" Holiday Deviled Eggs Recipe

The reason why recipe developer Michelle McGlinn calls these holiday deviled eggs "naughty and nice" is because, as she tells us, "They look so jolly but have a spicy bite." While McGlinn feels that the sriracha in the filling "adds a significant amount of heat to the eggs," it's not so much that they're likely to set your mouth on fire. After all, sriracha isn't nearly as incendiary as alternatives like Tabasco sauce or sambal oelek, and it also has plenty of sweetness to temper the mild burn. The amount of spice included here offers the perfect level of zing for these holiday deviled eggs.

One other filling ingredient that makes these eggs extra-special is Kewpie mayonnaise, which is a Japanese brand that McGlinn believes to have "a more egg-forward, richer flavor than Hellmann's mayo" and one that she feels will "accentuate the sriracha" without overpowering it. She does say, though, that "you can always swap [it] for Hellmann's or your preferred mayonnaise brand," while sour cream or yogurt are both lower-fat substitutes for mayonnaise.

The deviled eggs themselves are made from hard-boiled eggs, of course, with the addition of Kewpie mayonnaise, salt, pepper, and Sriracha for the filling. To make the decorative wreaths that surround the eggs, you will need fresh dill fronds and some Peruvian pearl peppers.

Place the eggs in a pot and cover with water.

Bring to a boil over medium heat.

Remove from the heat, cover, and steam for 10–12 minutes.

Transfer the eggs to an ice bath to cool.

When cool, peel each egg.

Slice the peeled eggs in half.

Remove the yolks and place in a small bowl.

Mash the yolks with a fork.

Add the Kewpie mayo, salt, pepper, and Sriracha to the mashed yolks and mix until smooth.

Pipe the filling into the halved eggs.

Using 3 fronds per egg half, wrap the dill fronds around the yolk filling in the shape of a wreath.

Add 2 pearl pepper halves to the bottom of each wreath.

Serve.

Peruvian pearl peppers, if you are not familiar with the variety, are something that McGlinn describes as being "very mild and mostly sweet, like a bell pepper." For this recipe, though, the most pertinent factor is that they are small in size. McGlinn does admit that these peppers "can be hard to find," although she suggests looking around in the section of the supermarket that has olives and pickled peppers. As she tells us, "I found mine at Whole Foods with the fresh olives."

If you absolutely can't find Peruvian pearl peppers, however, there's no need to give up on the recipe, nor should you feel obligated to order them online and pay a premium for shipping and handling. Instead, McGlinn offers an alternative that can be easily found in most grocery stores and does not cost an arm and a leg. As she tells us, "You can use small cherry tomatoes" to decorate your dill wreaths, instead.

If you like to get as much of your holiday cooking done in advance as you possibly can, you may be pleased to hear McGlinn say that "you can prep these [deviled eggs] ahead pretty easily and in many parts." For starters, the eggs can be boiled a week ahead of time, but McGlinn advises that you not peel them until you're ready to start making the eggs. She also notes that the filling can be prepared up to three days in advance, although you will, of course, need to peel the eggs for this. Her advice is to store it in the piping bag if you'll be using one of these to fill your eggs. Although she says, "If you don't have a piping bag, just use a spoon" to spread the mixture.

Unfortunately, the holiday deviled eggs, once assembled, don't make great leftovers. "They will start to look a little sad very quickly," McGlinn admits, explaining that "the yolk filling will harden and darken within about an hour." Still, if you don't need an entire dozen at once, you can easily cut the recipe down to make a smaller batch.