One of my favorite childhood memories is coloring Easter eggs.  Even today years later, whenever I smell white distilled vinegar, my mind instantly goes back to Easter eggs.  The next logical progression for our beautifully colored eggs was either egg salad or deviled eggs.  When you’re a kid, stuffing half of a deviled egg into your mouth was fun and totally expected.  When you’re a grown up not so much.  So this version is a bit more mature and refined, however, you still get those wonderful flavors of rich egg yolks, spicy mustard, and creamy mayonnaise, but then there’s just a hint of heat from the Sriracha followed by the salty brine of the pickle juice.

And when no one is looking, you can stuff as many of these in your mouth as you can and still feel like a kid!

Ingredients:

12 large eggs
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons finely minced chives
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Sriracha
1 tablespoon dill pickle juice
2 teaspoons brown mustard
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
Cooking spray

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and coat an 8-inch square non-stick baking pan with the cooking spray.

2) Separate the egg whites from the yolks and place the yolks in one bowl and the whites in another bowl.

3) Whisk the whites until they’re slightly foamy, and transfer them to the baking pan. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and place it in the oven. Bake the egg whites until they have set about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and the aluminum foil from the pan and allow the egg whites to cool.

4) Heat a nonstick skillet to medium heat and lightly spray the pan with the cooking spray. Whisk the egg yolks until they’re smooth and add them to the skillet. Using a nonstick spatula, stir the yolks until they’re scrambled and slightly dry, about 5 to 7 minutes.

5) Transfer the yolks to a food processor and add the mayonnaise, vinegar, Sriracha, pickle juice, mustard, and the white pepper. Pulse the mixture until it is smooth and creamy.

6) Transfer the yolk mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and place the bag in the refrigerator until the mixture is chilled about 5 to 10 minutes.

7) Turn the egg whites out onto a cutting board and cut them into 1-inch squares. If the whites have a thin crispy coating on top, using a sharp knife, slice a thin top layer away from the egg whites.

8) To serve, pipe a dollop of the egg yolk onto each square and sprinkle the chives and paprika on top. Serve chilled.