Potato Candy is thought to have come to the US in the early 1900’s from Germany. It became extremely popular during the Great Depression; making this tasty treat was a great way to create a delicious confection out of the little ingredients that were available during those trying times. The cold mashed potatoes, as the name suggests, are key in this recipe because they act as a binder, holding the candy's ingredients together.
Yield: about 3 dozen
Ingredients
1/3 cup, peeled, cooked, and mashed potato, cold (about 1 large potato)
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon table salt
6 to 7 cups powdered (confectioners) sugar
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter (Can also use Nutella)
Directions
Beat mashed potato and next 3 ingredients at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric mixer for 2 minutes. Beat in 6 cups powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time. Then add up to 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 Tbsp. at a time, to form dough.
Gather dough into a ball, dust with powdered sugar. Roll to 1/8 inch thick on parchment paper and cut into a 12- x 10-inch rectangle. Generously sprinkle powdered sugar over dough and place a piece of parchment paper over rectangle. Invert rectangle; discard parchment paper on top.
Spread peanut butter over dough. Starting at 1 long side, tightly roll up candy, jelly-roll fashion, using parchment paper as a guide. Wrap in parchment paper and freeze 1 hour. Cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices and serve. Refrigerate sliced candy in an airtight container up to 1 week.