Cheesy Bacon Twice Baked Potatoes

On Saturday night I made steak and potatoes for dinner. Instead of making standard baked potatoes, I decided to make cheesy bacon twice baked potatoes. These potatoes are inspired by the loaded baked potatoes at Bavette’s, but instead of serving the potato toppings on the side, I made twice baked potatoes. My husband was not familiar with twice baked potatoes and didn’t want to try them, until my explanation that cheese and bacon were involved changed his mind. Now that he has tried these twice baked potatoes, I think he is hooked.

There is quite a lot of butter and cheese in these potatoes, which is why I have nicknamed them “murder potatoes”. I do not recommend eating these potatoes on a regular basis, they are more of a special occasion dish. The last thing I want is to accidentally cause someone to have a heart attack. You can lighten the recipe up by using fat free sour cream and reduced fat cream cheese. Normally I do use fat free sour cream and reduced fat cream cheese when I make potatoes (and no one can taste the difference).

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Active Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 2

You will need:
2 large Potatoes
2 tablespoons Butter
Salt
2 slices Thick Cut Bacon
2 tablespoons Goat Cheese
3 tablespoons Cheddar
3 tablespoons Colby
3 tablespoons Cream Cheese
1/4 cup Sour Cream
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/8 teaspoon Pepper

Step 1:
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Throughly wash the potatoes and use a paper towel to dry them off. Then use a knife to poke about 4 holes in each potato using a sharp knife. Rub butter all over the outside of the potatoes. This will make the skin nice and crispy. Then generously salt the potatoes. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft. I used very large potatoes. A medium sized potato would probably cook in 30 minutes.

Step 2:
Place the the bacon on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Bake along side the potatoes for about 15 minutes, or until slightly crisp. Blot the excess grease with a paper towel. You do not want the bacon to get too crispy, since it will be baked again on the potato.

Step 3:
Remove the potatoes from the oven. Slice the potatoes in half. Let them cool for a couple minutes. Then scoop out most of the inside of the potatoes, and place the scooped out potato in a bowl. You want to start by scooping out the very center of the potato and then working out. Scoop out as much as you can without the potato loosing shape. Leave about 1/4 an inch of potato on the skins.

Step 4:
Add the goat cheese, cheddar, colby, cream cheese, sour cream, salt, pepper and 1 tablespoon of butter to the bowl with the scooped out potato. Use a fork or potato masher to mash all of the ingredients together. Then scoop the potato back into the potato skin.

Step 5:
Chop the bacon and sprinkle it over the top of the potatoes. If you want, you can add a little more cheese on top. I did this, but mostly to make the photos look better. Return the potatoes to the oven and cook for another 15 minutes to heat them up again.