I stumbled across a recipe for bacon jack deviled eggs today—but I didn’t have all the ingredients, and there were some changes I wanted to make. So here’s the result. The most obvious difference is that I halved the recipe, but I also reduced the proportion of mayo, increased and changed the cheese, removed the onion entirely, and added a pinch of fire.

Bacon Cheddar Deviled Eggs

• 6 hard boiled eggs, peeled and halved lengthwise
• 2 T mayonnaise
• 2 strips bacon, diced and cooked until crispy and drained on paper towels
• 1 T finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• a pinch of cayenne, ground chipotle, chili powder, or smoked paprika
• salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• colorful finishing salt (optional)

Gently spoon the yolks out of the egg halves and into a bowl. Set the whites on a plate, open side up. Add the mayo, bacon, cheese, mustard, and cayenne to the yolks; mash and mix with a fork. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Carefully stuff a little mound of the mixture back into the hole in each egg half. If you have a colorful large-flake salt around, sprinkle a little on top; it tastes good and it looks neat.

Makes 12 rather filling stuffed egg halves.

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