White Cheddar Stuffed Mushrooms

1. Preheat oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. Prefer not to line it? Spritz it with a teeny bit of oil and you're good to go.
2. Clean mushrooms by dusting off the caps with a damp paper towel. Remove the stems and place on a cutting board. Place mushroom tops on your baking sheet.
3. Freshly grate your Cabot sharp cheddar cheese off the block. You'll use 1/3 cup for the filling and 2/3 cup for topping. 1 cup total.
4. Finely mince the mushroom stems. Peel and finely mince garlic.
5. Melt butter in a large pan or skillet over medium-high heat and add your minced mushrooms and garlic. Sauté for approx. 3 minutes until tender.
6. Reduce heat to low and add cream cheese, basil, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes and stir it all up until the cream cheese has melted. Fold in 1/3 cup cheddar and remove from heat.
7. Spoon the filling into each mushroom cap then sprinkle each with your choice of toppings. I used a mix of toasted panko and crispy chopped bacon.

EXTRA CRISPY TOASTED PANKO TOPPING

1. For an extra crispy golden panko topping I like to gently toast the panko breadcrumbs in a skillet over medium-high heat until golden, shaking/stirring often the pan as the panko starts to turn golden. Looking to save a little time? You can add plain panko directly to the mushrooms and bake.

CRISPY BACON TOPPING

1. For my vegetarian friends, you'll simply use veggie bacon bits. For a classic bacon topping, cook bacon until crispy and finely chop until it's almost sprinkle sized.
2. After topping, bake at 375°F for approx. 15-20 minutes or until filling is hot and melty and the mushrooms are deliciously tender. Dive in while they're hot!