Easter Deviled Eggs

With Easter coming up in a few weeks, my mind has been on holiday cooking (again).  I've been on a quest for the perfect deviled egg recipe.

Let me preface this by saying, a platter of deviled eggs simply doesn't stand a chance in my presence. I start out innocently enough, coyly eying the relish tray, pretending my heart didn't just leap when I saw them sitting there.  

I grab one...then another...

After number three I have to consciously take a step back and remind myself that there are others there who might like a deviled egg as well.  I make the rounds of the room, secretly hoping that- after an appropriate amount of time has passed- more eggs will remain before I return for round two.

Ok, maybe I'm not quite that weird about it.

QUITE.

Pretty close, though.

I've tried out a few recipes lately, including an epic failure for deviled eggs with crab that LOOKED pretty, but tasted pretty gross.

Yesterday I decided to give it another go while the rain poured down and my husband nursed a bad cold upstairs.  

Remember my Loaded Egg Salad?  I copied a lot of the yummy flavors from that one in these eggs- mayo, mustard, sriracha, onion, sweet relish, black pepper, a little dill...

Oh yum.  Those flavors work just as well in deviled eggs as they do in the salad!  You get the sweet/tangy classically creamy flavor of a deviled egg with just a little bit of heat from that sriracha and black pepper.  

Finally, I've nailed the PERFECT deviled egg!  This is a recipe I'll be repeating over and over (sooner rather than later...I may or may not have polished off the remainder of yesterday's batch for lunch after church today!).  

Need some help making the perfect hard-boiled egg for your deviled eggs?  I recommend starting with my recipe for The Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs- Every Time!  Super-simple, even if you've never boiled an egg before in your life!

These are a great appetizer, not only because just about everyone loves them but also because they can be made in advance if you need to.  If you make them ahead of time I recommend pulling them out of the fridge about 20 minutes before serving- the flavor seems to be much better if they're not SUPER cold- just a tip from a deviled egg aficionado.  :-)

With no further ado...

Deliciously Delightful Deviled Eggs

12 hard-boiled eggs, sliced lengthwise, eggs separated from yolks 

1/2 C mayo 

2 Tbsp sweet pickle relish 

1 1/2 Tbsp prepared mustard 

1 tsp sriracha 

1/2 tsp black pepper 

1/2 tsp dill 

1/4 tsp onion powder 

1/4 tsp salt

1. Use an electric mixer to mix yolks, mayo, sweet relish, prepared mustard, sriracha, black pepper, dill, onion powder, and salt until smooth. Fill empty egg whites with egg yolk mix.