An old fashioned fun candy, this Potato Candy is made from mashed potatoes, powdered sugar, and peanut butter. They are super sweet but super fun!
If you love old fashioned recipes with unexpected ingredients, you also need to check out this Tomato Soup Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.
I love a good old fashioned recipe. One of my favorite things is looking through cookbooks from the 50s or 60s, especially when they are neighborhood or church cookbooks.
So of course, I’m always drawn towards those recipes with the unexpected ingredients.
Like this Potato Candy.
Yes, there are potatoes in this candy.
No, it does not taste like candy at all.
I couldn’t tell you where this recipe originated. Some sources say that it was during the depression when people were resourceful and never let anything go to waste. But other say that this recipe has been around much longer than that.
Regardless, it is a fun candy recipe that brings back childhood memories for so many people.
These little pinwheels are super, super sweet, though, so a little piece goes a long way. That makes them perfect for sharing with friends!
Ingredients
- Mashed Potatoes: I have only ever tried this candy with plain mashed potatoes. It may work with leftover mashed potatoes, but I usually have lots of salt and pepper in mine (plus any additional butter/milk/cream) so I can’t say for sure how well it would be with leftovers. You will need about 1 small/medium potato.
- Milk: You only need a little bit of milk to get the right consistency.
- Vanilla: To add a little bit of flavor.
- Salt: This is a very sweet candy. The salt helps to balance that just a bit.
- Powdered Sugar: I don’t sift the powdered sugar first – just scoop and measure.
- Peanut Butter: I like to use a commercial peanut butter, like Jif or Skippy. All natural peanut butter would probably work, but would be drier.
How to Make Potato Candy
1: In a large bowl, mix together the mashed potatoes, milk, vanilla, and salt.
2: Start adding in the powdered sugar, one cup at a time. It will get really liquidy at first – don’t let that throw you off!
3: Once you have added about 4 cups of the powdered sugar, start adding the sugar slowly. You will get a very stiff dough. I make this all by hand, and I know I’ve added enough when it gets too hard to stir together.
4: Pour the dough onto a counter (I like to sprinkle it with powdered sugar) and knead the dough a few times to bring it all together. If it is sticking to your hands, you probably need more powdered sugar.
5: Sprinkle a sheet of parchment paper generously with powdered sugar, then roll the dough out into a rectangle. I like to use the parchment as a guide to how big to roll the dough, plus it helps when it’s time to roll the dough.
6: Spread the peanut butter over the dough.
7: Roll the dough jelly roll style, rolling as tightly as possible. Once rolled, I like to stretch it out to about 2 feet in length to thin it out a bit. Cut the log in half then wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.
8: Once fully chilled, remove and cut into slices.
Tips and Storage
The amount of powdered sugar you will need will change based on how much water your potatoes are holding. Use the measurement as a rough guide.
Make sure and cut these small, as they are very sweet and a little goes a long way.
Store the candy in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. I like to let them come to almost room temperature before eating, though.
I have not tried freezing the leftover candy, but it should freeze well for up to 3 months.
More Candy Recipes
Buckeye Recipe
Shaggy Dog Candy
Homemade 100 Grand Candy Bar
Easy Fudge
Oreo Balls
Caramel Candy
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Potato Candy
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup mashed potatoes*
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- 5-6 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
Instructions
- Combine the potatoes, milk, vanilla extract, and salt in a large bowl. Mix to combined.
- Start adding in the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time. Once you have added about 4 cups, start adding a little at a time. It will all come together into a dough. It will be hard to stir, so once it gets too hard to stir, pour it out onto a counter and knead, adding more powdered sugar as needed.
- Once you have a stiff dough, transfer to a piece of parchment paper that has been sprinkled generously with powdered sugar. Roll the dough out with a rolling pin into a large rectangle, about 12 inches by 16 inches.
- Spread the peanut butter evenly over the dough.
- Roll the dough up jelly roll style, using the parchment paper to help roll the dough tightly.
- Once the dough is rolled into a cylinder, I like to take it and stretch it to about 24 inches long to make it a little bit skinner.
- Wrap the roll in plastic wrap. (It is usually easier to cut the roll in half then wrap the two sections separately.) Refrigerate for at least an hour, or overnight.
- Once completely chilled, remove the plastic wrap and cut into pinwheels. You should get about 40 pieces, depending on how thick you cut them.
Nancy says
Did not like and will not be making again. Nobody at Christmas liked it. It was a one bite candy and then it got tossed. Way too sweet. Your teeth will be screaming with one bite.
Rhonda Banner says
My mom taught me how to make this when I was a child. Same recipe. My classmates thought I was crazy when I took them to school.
Sonya says
I LOVE potato candy! My mother always made it when i was little. Im somaking this romorrow.
Diane says
My family has made this for Christmas for at least 3 generations if not more….I now teach my grand kids. My mom and I came up with the idea to add food coloring so I make green and red. You do cook the potatoes (usually 2 small one) just like you are making mashed potatoes. You start mashing them up and when they are smooth you start adding powdered sugar. It will take several bags. At first it will become liquidy but you keep adding enough until it is like pie dough. Then you roll it out and spread with peanut butter. I then wrap each roll in wax paper.
grace says
this is fun. fun and really weird and so surprising. 🙂
Carolyn Jung says
I remember seeing these in old-school cookbooks. Have always wondered what they were like. Oooh, sounds like they’d be perfect alongside espresso or black tea to help cut the sweetness a bit.
claire says
This looks like such fun!
Joanne says
I was so confused when I saw this title because I was absolutely positive that you were cooking out of a candy cookbook this month! Now i get it. These look fantastic! I love that they’re rolled with PB. Totally my kind of candy.
kat says
How interesting! I had to see what these were as soon as I saw the pic.
Katrina says
This is neat! The potato addition is so weird, but I’m willing to try!
briarrose says
What a fun recipe. I am so tickled by the use of potato in a candy. 😉
Rosa says
So pretty! What an interesting combination.
Cheers,
Rosa
Heather of Kitchen Concoctions says
These do sound so interesting! I would have never thought that a potato and sugar and peanut butter could go together.
Jess Wakasugi says
Okay, I’ll admit I almost passed over this post. But I’m so glad I didn’t! I didn’t realize that you were talking about POTATO candy!! What an intriguing idea, they kind of look like taffy!? If I ever have an extra potato around, these are a go!
Bev Weidner says
If there is such a thing as cute on a plate, this. is. it.