Cranberry Jalapeno Cream Cheese Dip

I have long lost the original source for this ah-mazing Cranberry Jalapeno Cream Cheese Dip, and there are a bunch of sites that host it or something similar. And it is fabulous. When a friend passed the now-lost link on to me, I was hesitant when I saw the jalepeno. I'm Minnesotan! I don't do spice! But she assured me that when seeded, it's not very spicy at all. And she's right, it's the perfect amount of zip, adding very little heat.

I brought this to a potluck at work and it was an absolute hit! It's very festive around the holidays, especially when the cranberries are fresh, but if you freeze your cranberries, you could bring this year-round. I bet it would be delicious at a summer picnic! Can you tell I'm thinking of warm weather?

1 12-ounce bag cranberries
1 jalapeño, stemmed, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 teaspoon cumin
pinch salt
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened

Dice cranberries and jalapenos to your preference. I like to run it in a food processor or bullet-type appliance. This gets it really thin and juicy. If you do this, you'll want to strain some of the liquid out right before you spread onto the cream cheese. If you like it a bit thicker, you can do this by hand. 

Add sugar, lime juice, cumin and salt and stir to combine. Cover and let sit either for 4 hours, or overnight. I recommend overnight, it's really lets everything soak up the sugar.

Spread softened cream cheese onto a large platter or dish and spread the cranberry mixture over. 

I served with Wheat Thins, but any yummy party cracker would be great. Shoot, cardboard would be great, this stuff is fab.