Baked Crab Rangoons

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium sized bowl, combine crab, cream cheese, cheese wedge, soy sauce, scallions, garlic, bell pepper and cayenne pepper until all ingredients are mixed well.

On a dry surface, take dumpling wrappers (wonton wrappers work as well – they will be folded into triangles rather than semi-circles – I personally find the dumpling wrappers a little easier to work with) and spoon a little over 1/2 Tablespoon of the crab mixture into the center of each.

Using a small pastry brush, brush the inside edges of the wrapper with a bit of water and fold the wrapper in half, creating a semi-circle shape. Beginning on one side, pinch edges together until sealed. Go back over with a fork and press down on both sides to ensure that the dumpling is sealed (it also just looks pretty!).

Place sealed dumplings on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Brush the tops with melted butter and place in oven. Set timer for about 7 minutes. Remove from oven and flip, brushing the other sides with butter and a little fresh ground pepper (if you have some on hand!). Place back in oven for another 7 minutes and remove when both sides are a nice golden brown and edges are crispy!

Serve with soy sauce, hot and sour sauce, or some spicy mustard for dipping (regular old Dijon mustard is my favorite pairing – just enough kick to really compliment the cheesy, crunchy crab concoction!)