• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • About Me
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • Youtube
Sugar Spun Run
  • All Recipes
  • Desserts
    • Cookies
    • Candy
    • Bars & Brownies
    • Cake
    • Pies
  • Pastries
  • Breads
  • Savory
  • Breakfast
    • Muffins
    • Scones
  • Seasonal
    • Cozy Winter / Holiday Treats
    • Easter / Spring
    • Fall Recipes
    • Summer Recipes
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • About Me
  • All Recipes
  • Contact/Work with Me
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • Youtube
  • ×
    You are here: Home / Desserts / Old Fashioned Easter Egg Candy

    Old Fashioned Easter Egg Candy

    March 19, 2018 Updated March 19, 2019 BySam 67 Comments

    This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure policy.
    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    Old Fashioned Easter Egg Candy

    This Old Fashioned Easter Egg Candy is a generations-old family recipe.  We make it every year for Easter and it never lasts long.  Don’t be alarmed by the mashed potatoes that the recipe calls for, they are a critical ingredient that I was skeptical of at first, but you’ll never be able to even tell that they’re mixed in the filling!

    Old fashioned easter candy eggs

    This old fashioned Easter egg candy is a generations-old recipe that has been in my family for a long time. It’s amazing, highly coveted by family friends, and it also includes a critical secret ingredient that you might have not seen coming.

    Potatoes.

    Believe it or not, the filling for these Easter Egg Candies is made partly of mashed potatoes.

    Easter egg candy with bite missing

    I’ll be the first to admit that I had was severely skeptical the first time my mom showed me how to make this candy.  When she started to peel the potatoes I thought she was joking, and I also thought there was no chance I would ever eat a candy that had anything to do with potatoes.

    I was wrong.

    The potatoes mostly serve for binding together the otherwise very sweet, sugary filling for these Easter Egg Candies.  It’s untraceable in the finished product, and I encourage you to see if your guests can figure out what the “secret ingredient” actually is.

    Easter egg candy dough, shaped into egg form on pan

    Tips for Making Old Fashioned Easter Egg Candy

    • To make the potatoes, peel them, dice them into even-sized cubes, and boil them until tender when pierced with a fork, then drain and allow them to cool completely before mashing.  You must make fresh mashed potatoes specifically for this recipe, don’t use leftovers that may have other ingredients (milk, pepper, garlic, etc.) mixed in.
    • Let the potatoes cool completely.  Don’t refrigerate them, just leave them at room temperature once you’ve drained them until they are completely cooled, and then mash them until no lumps remain.
    • Add more sugar as needed.  The dough will need to chill before you can roll it into eggs and it will be too tacky when first mixed up, but it should be somewhat shapeable. If it’s too runny, add more sugar, up to 2 cups more.
    • Dust your hands with powdered sugar when rolling the eggs — the dough won’t stick to your hands and you’ll get nice smooth easter eggs that way.
    • My grandmother’s recipe used unsweetened chocolate for the coating, as the filling can be very sweet and the unsweetened chocolate helps temper the sweetness.  My family found the unsweetened chocolate to be much too bitter, and so I recommend using semisweet chips instead.
    • I thin my chocolate a bit with a teaspoon of shortening, it helps the chocolate cover the eggs more neatly, but is optional (my grandmother’s recipe used paraffin wax.

    Easter egg candy covered in chocolate

    Enjoy!

    Easter egg candy

    Old Fashioned Easter Egg Candy

    Old Fashioned Easter Egg Candy made with mashed potatoes!
    4.93 from 14 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 1 hour
    Total Time: 1 hour
    Servings: 25 eggs
    Calories: 249kcal
    Author: Sam Merritt

    Ingredients

    • ½ cup mashed potatoes* Use russet potatoes
    • ½ cup salted butter softened
    • 5+ cups powdered sugar
    • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
    • 18 oz semisweet chocolate I use 1 ½ bags semisweet chocolate chips
    • 1 teaspoon shortening (like Crisco) optional, but this will make the chocolate thinner and smoother and easier for decorating
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • With electric mixer, combine mashed potatoes, butter, and 1 cup sugar.
    • Add in remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time.
    • Stir in vanilla.
    • Refrigerate filling for at least 1 hour.
    • Once chilled, scoop by 1 ½ Tablespoon and roll into egg shape and place on wax-paper lined cookie tray. If dough is still sticky, chill for longer or dust your hands with powdered sugar before rolling.  Return to refrigerator while you prepare the chocolate coating
    • Pour chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl, add shortening, and heat at 25 second intervals, stirring well in between, until chocolate is melted.
    • Dip eggs in chocolate to coat and return to cookie sheet (to dip, I usually set the egg on the tines of a fork and then use a spoon to pour chocolate overtop and then slide egg onto wax paper lined sheet to harden).
    • Refrigerate until chocolate coating has hardened. Keep eggs refrigerated.

    Notes

    *No salt/pepper or any other flavoring added.  These should be plain potatoes that have been peeled, cubed, boiled, and then mashed.
    Allow potatoes to cool completely before adding sugar. Otherwise they will melt the sugar and you will end up with a very runny mess that will not conform to an egg shape.  I recommend allowing them to cool at room temperature rather than the fridge, as sometimes the condensation from the fridge can also make the mixture runny.
    If needed, it is OK to add more sugar. The consistency will not be completely stiff and easy to roll into eggs before going into the refrigerator for an hour, but should be able to hold its shape.
    Another variation of this candy can be made by rolling the filling into cigar shapes and rolling in 2 Tablespoons of cinnamon for Cinnamon Cigar Candy.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1piece | Calories: 249kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 36mg | Potassium: 129mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 31g | Vitamin A: 124IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 14mg | Iron: 1mg
    Tried this recipe? Show me on Instagram!Mention @SugarSpun_Sam or tag #sugarspunrun!

    Recipe originally published April 19, 2014.  Photos and some text updated March 19, 2018.

    Previous Post: « 7 Layer Bars
    Next Post: Vanilla Frosting Recipe »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Beth

      April 02, 2021 at 8:56 pm

      5 stars
      Sam I have a terrible time when making chocolate dipped items. These easter eggs I can only get 6 done before I have to chill them again. I used chocolate chips and shorting but my chocolate still seams thick. I’m afraid to add more shorting that it won’t harden. Help.

      Reply
      • Sam

        April 03, 2021 at 11:09 am

        Hi Beth! Recently I have been struggling more with some chocolate chip brands. Ghirardelli seems to be giving me the best results. You could try adding another teaspoon of shortening to the chocolate. 🙂

        Reply
    « Older Comments

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    The author (Sam) in blue shirt holding donut Hi, I'm Sam! I'm dedicated to bringing you sweet, simple, and from-scratch dessert recipes. My life may or may not be controlled by my sweet tooth. Send help (or chocolate). Read more about me.

    Most Popular

    flaky biscuit on white cloth

    Easy Homemade Biscuits

    Pizza dough in glass bowl, after rising

    The Best Pizza Dough Recipe

    Slice of yellow cake with chocolate icing on white plate

    The Best Vanilla Cake Recipe

    stack of 5 chocolate chip cookies

    The WORST Chocolate Chip Cookies

    Spring Recipes!

    Deviled eggs

    Million Dollar Deviled Eggs

    Carrot cake slice

    The Best Carrot Cake Recipe (with Video)

    Carrot cake cupcake with white frosting on a plate

    Carrot Cake Cupcakes

    pink strawberry cake on white plate

    Strawberry Cake

    Slice of hummingbird cake on a plate

    Hummingbird Cake

    Easter egg candy

    Old Fashioned Easter Egg Candy

    NEVER MISS A RECIPE!

    Subscribe and receive a
    FREE E-BOOK

    places sugar spun run has been featured (Women's Day, Redbook, Good Housekeeping, Country Living, the huffington post, People, Delish, MSN, TLC, Parade, Better Homes & Gardens, Buzzfeed)
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • Youtube

    Privacy Policy|Accessibility Statement

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    ABOUT

    • About Me
    • Policies, Disclosure & Privacy
    • Terms of Use

    CONTACT

    • Contact
    • Work with Me!

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • Youtube

    © 2020 Sugar Spun Run. All Rights Reserved

    Subscribe To My Newsletter!