I don’t make twice baked potatoes often, but whenever I do I wonder why I waited so long. These crispy potato skins are filled with cooked potato combined with cheese, sour cream, scallions and bacon and then baked again to get nice browning on the top. They are SO yummy.
There are a few little tricks and tips to these to make them extra good. After baking the potatoes for about an hour, the filling is scooped out and the shells are baked for an additional 10 minutes, which makes them really good and crispy. Another tip is to use a combo of sour cream, butter and buttermilk to mash the potato for the filling. This gives a flavorful and fluffy filling.
Finally, once the potatoes have been filled with the tasty filling, put them under the broiler instead of just baking further. This allows nice browning of the filling without drying it out. I served these as the main course with a big winter vegetable salad, but they are also a great side dish or appetizer.
Twice Baked Potatoes
Ingredients
- 4 large russet potatoes scrubbed clean, dried and rubbed with oil
- 4 oz sharp cheddar shredded
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 2 tbsp butter
- 4 scallions sliced
- salt and pepper
- chopped bacon
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 400. Sprinkle potatoes with salt and bake for 1 hour on parchment lined baking sheet until the skin is crisp and dark brown and a skewer easily pierces the potato.
- Transfer potatoes to a rack and let cool about 10 minutes.
- Cut each potato in half so that the wider sides will rest on the work surface. Using a spoon, scoop out the potato from the skins and place in a bowl.
- Place the shells back on the cookie sheet and bake for 10 more minutes until crispy.
- Mash the potato with the rest of the ingredients other than scallions and chopped bacon.
- Spoon into the shells and turn the oven to broil. Broil for 5-10 minutes until the filling is getting brown spots. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes and then top with scallions and bacon and serve.
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