Cheesy Hasselback Potatoes

I've had hasselback potatoes on my "to make" list for ever it seems. I really should put all my "to makes" in a list somewhere so I can cross them off. I love crossing things off of lists. It's a sickness I tell you. As an administrative assistant I get to appease my need for making lists and crossing things off of them on a daily basis. I have added things to the list and then immediately crossed them off for the satisfaction. True story.

Back to cheesy potatoes! These were intended to be topped with chopped bacon, but I didn't realize until the potatoes were in the oven that we had no bacon thawed out. We'd used it all up the other day for brussels sprouts. Sigh. Oh well. Don't forget the bacon like I did. Unless you don't like bacon. Then I'm not sure if we can be friends. 

If you like cheesy potatoes I hope you will give these ones a try - they were fun to make and you get a lot of crispy potato surface with the way they are cut which we enjoyed quite a bit. I didn't find that they took that much more time to make than a traditional baked potato either. There are a lot of variations you can make and of course mix and match your preferred toppings to make them perfectly yours!

Cheesy Hasselback Potatoes adapted from Tablespoon

Ingredients
6 medium russet potatoes
6 tablespoons salted butter
3 tsp minced garlic
6 - 8 ounces mixed cheddar and mozzarella cheeses
Optional toppings: sour cream, chopped bacon, etc.

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Slice the potatoes thinly (about an 1/8 inch) without cutting all the way through the bottom. Place the potatoes on a prepared baking sheet. Carefully divide the garlic between the slices and then stuff the sliced butter between a few of the cuts. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper.
3. Bake until crispy on the top and tender in the middle, about 1 - 1 1/2 hours.
4. When tender, remove the potatoes from the oven then stuff and top with the shredded cheeses. Return the potatoes to the oven until the cheese has melted, about 5 minutes.
5. Top with with sour cream and a sprinkle of chopped bacon if desired.