Duchess Potatoes

By Foodiewife

Duchess Potatoes are a fancy looking potato side dish that will make any meal look extra special. (Really, they are just mashed potatoes with a little egg added.) The potatoes are then piped onto a baking sheet, then brushed with melted butter and baked until golden brown. Think of them, if you will, as naked twice-baked potatoes. The beauty of these, is that I make a big batch of mashed potatoes, pipe out all the Duchess potatoes, and then freeze them for later use. Please click on the recipe source link to see how I made these on my food blog "A Feast for the Eyes".

Ingredients

• 2 pounds Yukon Gold Potatoes, washed
• 2 ounces cream cheese
• 2 ounces butter
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 to 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Preparation

Step 1

Cook the potatoes, in salted water, until fork tender, about 20 minutes.
Drain.

If you have a food mill (or potato ricer) mill the potatoes into the same pot that you cooked the potatoes. Otherwise, mash the potatoes until they are broken down into chunks.

Add the cream cheese and butter.

Add whole milk, in smaller increments and stir the milled/riced potatoes until almost creamy. Otherwise, mash them by hand (or go buy an "OXO" brand food mill!).

Add the beaten egg and stir.

Add between the heavy cream, and stir until the potatoes have a creamy and silky texture, but not watery.

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Using a pastry bag, with a large tip (or a large zip-loc bag, with a small corner cut out) fill it with the potatoes.

Pipe in circles to create a pretty mound of potatoes on a well-buttered baking pan.

I like to freeze the whole pan for at least 15 minutes, which makes it easier to brush with melted butter.

Bake until golden brown around the edges-- about 15 to 20 minutes.

Notes: My measurements for making the mashed potatoes are all "approximations". I tend to factor in about 2 Yukon Gold potatoes, per person. I usually don't measure my liquid ingredients, but just add them in smaller amounts until the potatoes seem just creamy enough. The last thing I want to do is dump all my liquid at once, and get watery potatoes. Not good!

Bonus: I had about 8 extra Duchess potatoes, which I froze until solid. I then stored them in a Zip-Loc bag, in the freezer. For a quick side dish, place the frozen Duchess potatoes on a well-buttered baking pan and bake at 350°F for 15 to 20 minutes.