Simple Twice Baked Potatoes

This easy side dish is always a crowd pleaser. Creamy, cheesy, and full of flavor. 

Ingredients

I like to use baking potatoes for this recipe. They are larger and hold their form better since they have a slightly thicker skin. You'll need 4 large potatoes, a 12 oz. container of sour cream, chives, 6 slices of bacon, 12 oz. of cheddar cheese, 4 tablespoons of butter and about 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Salt and pepper to taste.

Wash your potatoes and place them on a cookie sheet. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. The cooking time in the oven is approximately 60 minutes but maybe a bit longer depending on the size of your potatoes. You want them to be fork tender. Once the potatoes are cooked cut in half long ways and let them cool about 10 minutes. 

While the potatoes are cooking in a large frying pan cook your 6 slices of bacon. If you prefer not to fry you can do it in the oven for minutes on a cookie sheet, or in the microwave on plate for approximately 1 minute per slice. Once cooked cool and then chop into small pieces. 

In a large bowl gather your sour cream, chives, bacon, and about 1/3 of your cheese, mix together. 

Scoop out the inside of the potatoes adding to the bowl. Once you have all of the potatoes scooped into the bowl use a masher or electric mixer to combine thoroughly. This is when you will add your butter melted, heavy cream, salt, and pepper. If you need a little more cream don't hesitate to add. You want the texture to be that of a creamy mashed potatoes. 

Now that you have your filling prepared spoon the mixture back into the potato skins.

Place the filled potatoes onto your baking sheet. Top with the remainder of your cheese and place back into a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Place a little of the remaining chopped chives on top for garnish. 

Serve warm!

Variation! 

If your looking for a low calorie option replace the heavy cream with 2% milk and reduce the butter to half. Add cream cheese if your looking for a denser consistency. Add extra bacon for garnish or replace the cheddar with pepper jack. It's up to you!

Make it easier! 

You could do your potatoes in the microwave to decrease the time. Use bacon bits or pre-cooked bacon instead of freshly cooked. You can also do these in advance and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 -5 days.   

Enjoy!