Koko ooey gooey mac-n-cheese

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PREP TIME: 30 MINUTES

TOTAL TIME:  60 MINUTES

• 16 OZ ELBOW MACARONI, COOKED (or other tubular pasta)
• 1 TBSP EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
• 6 TBSP UNSALTED BUTTER
• 1/3 CUP ALL PURPOSE FLOUR
• 3 CUPS WHOLE MILK
• 1 CUP HEAVY WHIPPING CREAM*
• 4 CUPS SHARP CHEDDARD CHEESE SHREDDED
• 2 CUPS GRUYERE CHEESE SHREDDED (melts great!)
• 1/4 CUP KOKO SPICE KLASSIC*
• 1 1/2 CUPS PANKO BREAD CRUMBS
• 4 TBSP BUTTER - MELTED
• 1/2 CUP PARMESAN CHEESE SHREDDED

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Lightly grease a large 3 qt. or 4 qt. baking dish, and set aside.
2. Combine shredded sharp cheddar and gruyere cheeses in a large bowl and set aside.
3. Cook pasta 1 minute shy of al dente according to the package instructions.  Remove from heat, drain and place in a large bowl
4. Drizzle pasta with olive oil and stir to coat pasta.  Set aside to cool while preparing the cheese sauce.
5. Melt 6 tablespoons of unsalted butter in a deep saucepan, Dutch oven or stock pot.
6. Whisk in flour over medium heat and continue whisking for about 1 minute until mixture becomes bubbly and golden.
7. Gradually mix in the milk and heavy cream until completely smooth.  Continue whisking until you see bubbles on the surface - then continue cooking and whisking another 2 minutes.  Whisk in Koko Spice Klassic
8. Add 2 cups of shredded cheddar/gruyere mixture and whisk until smooth.  Add another 2  cups of shredded mixture and continue whisking until creamy and smooth.  Sauce should be nice and thick.  NOTE: You should still have 2 cups of shredded cheddar/gruyere.
9. Stir in the cooled pasta combining until pasta is fully coated with the cheese sauce.
10. Pour half of the pasta mixture into the prepared baking dish.  Top mixture with last 2 cups of shredded cheddar/gruyere and then finish with the remaining pasta mixture.
11. In a small bowl, combine Panko bread crumbs, parmesan cheese and melted butter.  Sprinkle this over the top and bake until bubbly and golden brown - about 30 minutes.  Serve immediately and enjoy!

1. Instead of heavy whipping cream, you can substitute a plant based cream - I tried and it worked great!
2. For a spicier version, use Koko Kickin' in place of Koko Klassic.  If you're serving a bunch of 'heat connoisseurs' and really want to turn up the heat, use 1 TBSP of Koko Kryin' in place of the 1/4 cup Koko Klassic.
3. Before adding the pasta to the cheese mixture, stir in some crumbled bacon - yum!

1. I learned the hard way using hand shredded cheese from a block works much better than the store bought shredded cheese.  The store bought shredded cheese has a coating on it to keep it from sticking together.