Stuffed Baked Potatoes - baking potatoes

Method

• Rub potatoes with oil and pierce with knife or fork.
• Bake at 400 for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
• Allow to cool to the touch.
• Slice and remove top quarter of each potato, let cool for 5 minutes; carefully scoop out pulp leaving 1/4 inch layer of the potato on inside, making sure not to tear or rupture shell.
• Place pulp in a large bowl.
• Butter inside and out of each potato shell with melted butter.
• Sprinkle insides of shells with 1/4 t. salt.
• Increase oven temperature to 475.
• Place potato shells, scooped side up on a baking sheet fitted with a wire rack and bake until skins begin to crisp, about 15 minutes.
• Saute onions in 1/4 cup butter until tender.
• Add to potato pulp along with cream, sour cream, salt and pepper (*see Note below).
• Beat until smooth (some folks dont like their stuffed potatoes real smooth so just beat until you reach the consistency you desire).
• Fold in cheese.
• Stuff potato shells and place in a 13x9x2 baking dish.
• Drizzle remaining melted butter over tops of potatoes.
• Sprinkle with paprika and crumbled bacon pieces.
• Return to oven and bake until the tops are golden brown, about 15 minutes.
• Potatoes may be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated or frozen.
• Allow additional time for reheating.
• *Note: If you can't find large potatoes, bake extra potatoes.
• Otherwise the cream and sour cream will result in too much liquid for the potatoes.
• I do the 3 large potatoes and then bake an extra smaller potato (which I don't stuff but use the pulp).
• I also mash the potatoes before adding any of the other ingredients -- and I combine the cream, sour cream, salt and pepper in a bowl and add a little at a time to the potatoes as I continue to mix them.
• This way you can better judge the consistency of the pulp and not get the potatoes too runny.
• I then add the onions and cheese.
• The cooking time includes the time to do the initial baking of the potatoes.