I love twice-baked potatoes. They can be made using many different ingredients, whatever flips your switch. This recipe calls for sour cream and shallot, but you could use cream cheese and onion instead. You’re only limited by your imagination. This dish doesn’t take a lot of hands-on time. You can bake the potatoes ahead of time and then the rest of the preparation goes quickly.

Start by washing russet “baker” potatoes and running a knife lengthwise along one side of each, just piercing the skin. Then give one deep jab along the score. One time I didn’t do this and had the potatoes explode in the oven and make a mess, so do it. Just sayin’. The russets I use are quite large and I bake at 350 degrees for an hour and a half. They should be soft when squeezed. Remove from the oven and let cool awhile, until you can pick them up. It’s much easier to scoop out the insides if they are still warm. This is what they look like when cooked.

In a small skillet saute a chopped shallot and a chopped garlic clove in butter until tender.

Scoop out the white part of the potatoes with a spoon into a large bowl, being careful not to pierce the skin.

Mash the potato as well as possible (my bowl was too small).

Here are the potato skins, ready to be stuffed.

Add the shallot, garlic, butter mixture to the potatoes. Add salt and pepper. Add a few tablespoons of bacon bits. Stir together with dollops of sour cream, enough to bind it all together.

Stir in sharp cheddar cheese.

Mix together well.

Stuff the mixture into the potato skins.

Sprinkle with grated sharp cheddar cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees until cheese is melted and potatoes are heated throughout, 15-20 minutes.

Ingredient List

Russet “Baker” potatoes

Shallot

Garlic

Butter

Salt and pepper

Bacon bits

Sour Cream

Sharp Cheddar Cheese