Mini Twice Baked Potatoes

HAPPY FRIDAY AND HAPPY MINI TWICE BAKED POTATOES!!

Can you tell I am still on my mini Super Bowl kick?  Well, I am!!  We are just days away the big game and I am gearing up for our party this Sunday!!  So far on the menu I am planning to have Mini Pizza Bites and Baked Bean & Corn Muffin Bites along with other tiny delights including Mini Twice Baked Potatoes.

These little starchy nuggets are filled with tangy sour cream, smoky bacon, sharp cheddar and fresh chives... everything you love about loaded baked potatoes in one scrumptious bite!!  

PLUS these bites are the PERFECT MAKE-AHEAD DISH!!  Whip them up the day before, pop them in the fridge and then cook them up the day of your event.  I mean, who wants to be slaving away at the stove when you have a ton of your favorite people over??  Not me!! 

MINI LOADED BAKED POTATOES 

Adapted from Laura's Best Recipes

Makes 25 bites (give or take)

Ingredients

•  1 pound tiny potatoes (about 25 or so - I got mine at Trader Joe's)
•  1 tablespoon olive oil
•  salt & pepper 
•  2 slices of bacon, fried crisp and crumbled
•  4 tablespoons sour cream
•  1 tablespoon fresh chives, finely diced
•  1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF.  
2. Toss potatoes in olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and pepper and bake on a sheet pan for 20 to 25 minutes until easily pierced with a tooth pick.  Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
3. With a small knife cut off the top 1/4 of each potato, discarding the top.  Then using a melon baller or a small spoon scoop out the inside of the potato, making sure to the keep skin intact, placing potato flesh into a small bowl.  Using a fork or a masher, combine potato with bacon, sour cream, chives and cheddar.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Once combined, place potato mixture into a pastry bag or ziplock bag and cut off the tip of the bag.  Pipe potato mixture into potato skins, making sure mixture is slightly mounded at the top.  Place potatoes in a greased baking dish. 
4. If you are making this dish ahead of time, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge until ready to cook (up to two days in advance).  Make sure to bring potatoes back to room temperature before finishing off.
5. Bake potatoes at 400ºF for 15 to 20 minutes until tops are slightly browned and potatoes are heated through.  Serve immediately or at room temperature.  Enjoy!