Slice or cut bacon into bite-sized pieces. Heat in a pan and cook until crisp.

Remove the bacon, leaving as much bacon fat in the pan as possible. Place the bacon on paper towels to dry and crisp up.

Dice the jalapeño peppers. To do this, slice them in half, then slice into quarters and dice. If desired, deseed the peppers before dicing, for a less spicy soup.

Season and sauté the jalapeños in the bacon fat until lightly browned and aromatic.

Remove the jalapeños, leaving as much bacon fat in the pan as possible. Place the jalapeños on top of the bacon to dry off.

Shred the cheddar cheese using a grater or a food processor with a grating attachment (pictured: Cuisinart Pro).

In a separate pot, add the bacon fat, butter, broth, and spices. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer for at least 15 minutes.

Using an immersion blender, blend all of the ingredients together well. The fats and broth need to emulsify to keep them from separating. Once done, add the heavy whipping cream and grated cheese, and season the soup again with salt and pepper.

Add the bacon and diced jalapeño back into the soup and stir well. Let simmer for 5 minutes before serving.