Smoky Chipotle Pepper Flakes

I am loving my spice rack lately.

Mostly, because I keep making my own dried herbs and spices, so my cupboard is getting fuller and fuller every day.  I'm especially looking forward to this spring and summer, when I can grow my own veggies and herbs, and dry them out to use them all year round!

The only downside to this is the pungent odor that fills your house when you've got what feels like a million different kinds of vegetables and herbs drying out in your oven.  Since my lovely town reached a lovely -40F the other morning (and nearby Whiteface Mountain recorded a -114F wind chill...), I'm not opening any windows around here any time soon.  All of those aromas stayed circulating through my kitchen with no way out.

Luckily, since I love the smell of veggies cooking, I was more than pleased with the way my kitchen smelled. 

This week, I attempted to make my own pepper flakes with smoky Chipotle peppers.

I'm excited to try this alone as a spice, and maybe mixing them with some other dried spices to make a delicious spice blend!










Smoky Chipotle Pepper Flakes

10-15 Chipotle peppers



Preheat oven 125F.

Cut the stems off each pepper.  Lay out one layer deep on a greased cookie sheet.

Place cookie sheet in oven and cook in 6-12 hours.  Keep the oven door slightly ajar.  

The peppers should be completely dry and easy to crumble.  Place in a food processor and pulse 2-3 times, or until you get the desired flake size.  Refrain from opening the lid for 5-10 minutes to allow any powder particles to settle when finished.

Store Chipotle Pepper flakes in an airtight container.