Hands-on time: 10 minutes
Total time: 35 minutes
- 2 large russet potatoes (about 1 lb), washed
- ¼ c whole milk
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 4 oz Cheddar cheese, grated (1 c)
Microwave the potatoes on high until tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Halve lengthwise, and preserving the skins, scoop the flesh into a bowl. Mash the flesh with the milk, butter, ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper; mix in half the Cheddar. Spoon into the potato skins, place on a baking sheet, sprinkle with the remaining Cheddar. Place the stuffed potatoes in a 375° oven and bake until golden, 20-25 minutes.
Prepared Skins – the ones in the back didn’t turn out so well, got better with the front ones. 
Prepared skins – the best examples with scoring technique
Along with the previous post, Roasted Turkey Breast with Thyme, this recipe was originally part of the tri-recipe meal from Real Simple. Of the three recipes (the third to follow soon), this was the best one.
I’d never made twice baked potatoes before and these just looked so good I couldn’t wait!! And they did not disappoint. Now if this is also your first time making twice baked potatoes, a word of caution – the potatoes are really, really hot to work with when they come out of the microwave! All of the slicing and scooping you have to do while they’re malleable, be careful! To help scoop out the inside and still maintain the shape of the skin and such being left behind for later, I recommend making guiding cuts with a knife a little ways from the edge before scooping. You can see from the pictures that I developed this technique as I went.
Scooping the insides out is the toughest part, but once you get the hang of it, it’s all good from there. Overall, an easy and delicious little side dish!