Twice baked potatoes topped with cheese, and decorated as mummies for some Halloween fun.
When I was young, my mom used to make twice-baked potatoes as a treat for my dad and me. She’d whip some cream, butter, salt and pepper into the potatoes, fold them gently back into the skins, and top them with cheddar cheese before sliding them back into the oven for a quick melt.
Problem was, when they were on the menu, I didn’t want to eat anything else she’d prepared. There was always a little drama at the dinner table.
Many years later, they’re still a favorite of mine. To make them, you’ve got to use the best potatoes you can find, and for me that means Idaho® potatoes. You may wonder if it really makes that big a difference, whether the potatoes were grown in Idaho or somewhere else. The answer is a resounding yes. Idaho's growing season of warm days and cool nights, ample mountain-fed irrigation and rich volcanic soil, give Idaho Potatoes their unique texture, taste and dependable performance. Look for their GROWN IN IDAHO® or IDAHO® POTATOES, both of which are federally registered certification marks by the Idaho Potato Commission.
If you’re looking for more great recipes with the best potatoes money can buy, go visit their Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram pages. You’ll be surprised at all the wonderful ways to cook with them.
For Halloween, I made roach (one of my not-so-private phobias) infested twice-baked potatoes with roaches made from dates. My husband, Carnivorous Maximus, and I tried raisins at first – and after trying to make roaches out of them, trust me, dates are the way to go.
Twice Baked Potato Mummies
Ingredients
- 2 Idaho® russet potatoes
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoon sour cream
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3 slices of cheddar cheese
- 8 currants
- 5 dates
Instructions
- Poke a few holes in the potatoes using a sharp knife and microwave the potatoes until softened. In my microwave oven, it takes about 10 minutes, but this will depend upon the strength of your microwave, the size of the potatoes, and your altitude. All baking takes longer at higher altitudes.
- Slice the potatoes in half lengthwise, and carefully scoop out the potato into a small bowl, leaving only the skin. Place the scooped out potato, a bit at a time into a potato ricer and press the potato into a medium-large bowl. Alternatively, you can scoop the potato out of the skins directly into a medium-large bowl and mash using a masher.
- Add the butter, sour cream, salt and pepper and stir until the butter is completely melted.
- Preheat the oven to 300˚F and place the skins on a baking sheet. Fold the mashed potatoes into the potato skins. Slice the cheddar cheese into ½" wide strips and lay them across the mashed potatoes, leaving one end of the potato open so that the mashed potatoes are visible. Tuck the cheese ends around the potatoes just inside the skins, mummy-style. Bake for 2 minutes or until the cheese slightly melts.
- Add the currants to the revealed mashed potatoes for the 'eyes'.
- Make roaches out of dates by slicing the dates in half lengthwise. This is the roach back, but it's much larger than what you need. Using a sharp knife, slice thin slivers from the sides. These will be the legs that you press onto the bottoms of the roach back. Slice the point off one end of the roach back and gently round the edges using your fingers. This is the head of the roach. Because dates are so sticky, I just press the legs and head onto the body. For roaches sticking into the potatoes, I just used a couple of legs instead of all six. If you have trouble attaching the head or legs, spoon a little cream cheese into the hollowed 'belly' of the 'roach' and attach them to the cream cheese.
- Insert the roaches into the potatoes by cut a slit through the cheese and sliding in a 'roach' back. Attach one 'leg' on either side.
- Disclaimer: I am not the artist I want to be in my imagination.
Renee
Roaches made out of dates - what a great idea! Kids would love this.
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks Renee. I LOVED your potato skull cake!!!
Liz
Oh, my gosh! I'd ignore the rest of the meal, too, if these spooky mummies were on our menu! Perfect for Halloween!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks Liz! I'm in love with your potato candy little guys. They are adorable!!!
Jennifer @ Peanut Butter and Peppers
Yummy! I just love your little mummies! Too cute!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks Jennifer! I had so much trouble with this one - every idea I had didn't execute like I thought it would :-).
Cindys Recipes and Writings
Those dates worked perfect, so buggy! Don't let them near those cheesy potatoes!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Dates work perfect for these creepy roaches. If the scale of the dish would have worked, the dates are even better when you use the full length of the dates. Eek!
Kimberly
Ha ha ha ... I love the roaches! So incredibly creative!
And I am into any potato topped with cheese so these are right up my alley!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
I like my mashed potatoes simple, and these were really close to the ones my mom used to make for me. Glad you liked my roaches!!
Shaina
These potatoes not only sound delicious (all that gooey cheese, yum!) but they make pretty awesome mummies too! The roaches are my favorite though, I don't know if I'd have the patience to do that!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
It totally took some patience. My husband helped too - he got pretty good at it - so that helped 🙂
lapadia
Cute idea!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks Linda!!
apuginthekitchen
I haven't had twice baked potatoes in years, I love your potato mummies and roaches out of dates, gotta love that too. I agree about Idaho potatoes. They are the best. Cheese and creamy potatoes, now you have me craving it.Just bought some potatoes YUM!!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
This was the first time I'd made them in ages! And our step-son put his order in for some when he saw them on Facebook earlier today :-). Yes, yes, yes, Idaho potatoes really are the best. I think there's a big difference in the texture.
Jennie @themessybakerblog
I love that these are oozing cheese. Nom!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
As a kid, I loved a lot of cheese on mine 🙂
Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen
You are killing me with the roaches here LOL
The Wimpy Vegetarian
LOL!! The roaches made ALL the difference 🙂
Courtney @ Neighborfood
Who knew a creature made of dates could be so creepy??
The Wimpy Vegetarian
The dates worked amazingly well 🙂
Katie
Oh my gosh - I was the same way! I only wanted to eat the twice baked potatoes whenever my mom made them. To heck with the rest of dinner!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Our stepson has already requested these when he and his family visit next, and I'm thinking it might be the same with the grandkids 🙂
Family Foodie
Susan, I love twice baked potatoes with all of that creamy goodness and cheese, so turning them into mummies is perfect. Living in FL has given me the creepy crawlies about roaches ... so those dates really "creeped" me out!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
I lived in Atlanta for several years and traveled the southeast for my work. Roaches were part of the experience - they just freaked me out. I guess they love the humidity!
Norma Chang
Very clever idea with the dates roach. Did not know about Idaho potatoes thanks for the info, learned something new.
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks Norma! There really is a difference with the Idaho potatoes - it's in the texture of them and the flavor. I notice it when the potato is the star like a baked or mashed potato.
Amy Kim (@kimchi_mom)
If there's one thing that creeps me out, that's ROACHES! If you've ever lived in NYC, it is inevitable that you will encounter roaches!
Your "roaches" are pretty creepy..the color and shine of those dates come pretty close to the real thing. I will have to make these potatoes without them! 😉
The Wimpy Vegetarian
If you ever live in the south, it's the same thing. I lived in Atlanta for several years and traveled the whole southwest for my work. They were just a fact of life there - Mississippi was the worst though. They just freaked me out!
Amy @ Fearless Homemaker
I love twice-baked potatoes and these look SO wonderful! I'd love one for dinner tonight. =)
Betsy @ Desserts Required
Your roaches are so disgustingly real...which I mean in only the nicest of ways! I LOVE this!!!
Choc Chip Uru
What a delicious idea, any potato is good potato but twice-baked? I bet the flavour really comes through 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
cheri
Hi Susan, love twice baked potatoes, a little leery about the roaches but very clever idea!
Aras Androck
Mmmm. Now I'm really hungry.