While macaroni cooks, melt four tablespoons butter in a large pan over medium heat.
4 TBS butter
Reduce heat to low and add the flour, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper to pan. Constantly whisk the mixture for one minute.
4 TBS flour, 3/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper
Increase the heat to medium heat then add milk slowly and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Whisk constantly until the milk thickens, 3-5 minutes.
2 cups milk
Once milk has thickened, add in two cups of cheddar cheese and whisk until the cheese has melted. Taste the sauce and add more salt if needed.
5 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Toss cooked macaroni with the bechamel sauce.
Place half the coated macaroni (about 1 1/2 cups) on the bottom of a square 9x9 baking dish. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt. Top with 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese.
Add the other half of the macaroni on top then the final 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheese and sprinkle with the final 1/4 teaspoon of garlic salt.
Add cubed butter on top of the cheese layer and cover with foil.
4 TBS butter
Bake for 20 minutes covered with foil. Remove foil and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until top is beginning to brown.
Serve warm
Notes
Stir the bechamel sauce constantly while you’re cooking it. You don’t want any part of it to burn or brown or it’ll change the flavor of the sauce.Cook the macaroni to al dente since they’ll get cooked a bit more in the oven and you don’t want them to end up totally mushy.Double the recipe by simply doubling the ingredients and baking it in a 9×13 casserole dish instead. This is a great meal for a crowd, a party, or a holiday feast!Up the salt in the recipe by 1/2 tsp if you like your macaroni and cheese a bit salty. We like to salt to taste since my husband and I have different salt preferences – if you like a bit more salty, go for 1 1/4 tsp salt instead.