You read it correctly: Potato Candy! This recipe has been a favorite in my family for generations. Don’t be alarmed by the potatoes, they’re a critical ingredient that you’d never guess is hidden in this sweet old-fashioned candy!
My family loves making this potato candy around the holidays, especially for Christmas and Easter. You might even recognize the candy base as I’ve shared it before in my Easter Egg Candy. Be sure to read through the post for all of my most important tips before you begin!
If you’ve read this far you’re either really, really intrigued or you grew up making your own Potato Candy and already know how amazingly delicious this recipe really is.
I’m guessing we lost some people with the title, but trust me, they’re missing out. You’re going to be so glad you stuck around (and I’m so grateful for you for trusting me on this one!).
This recipe came from my grandmother’s grandmother. While the potatoes may seem off-putting at first, I promise you that you won’t taste them in the finished product. They mostly serve to bind the candy “dough” together, and they do so without making it too sweet (if you left out the potatoes, you’d have a much too sweet buttercream candy that you couldn’t roll into this cute pinwheel shape).
I do have lots of tips and tricks for making this recipe, so let’s jump in. I highly recommend you read through this entire post before venturing out to make your own Potato Candy.
Tips for Making Potato Candy
- 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. If your potatoes are still warm when you add them to your mixture, there’s a good chance they’ll melt your butter and your sugar, resulting in a watery dough that you’ll have to toss out.
- Add more sugar as needed. The dough will need to chill before you can roll it out, and it will be too tacky when first mixed up, but it should be somewhat shapeable. If it’s too sticky, you can always add more sugar, up to 2 cups more.
- Dust your surface and your rolling pin with powdered sugar, it will make the whole process easier and your dough less likely to stick.
If the Mixture Becomes Watery, There’s a Good Chance You’ll Have to Start Over
Here’s my biggest warning about this recipe, a mystery I haven’t yet been able to solve: Every so often I’ll have a batch that turns out watery.
The first time this happened, I thought I hadn’t cooled the potatoes correctly and they melted the sugar. While that is definitely your most likely issue (and why I included the notes above) I’ve found that sometimes, even when I follow every instruction carefully and precisely, occasionally my dough turns out too runny. So runny that no matter how much sugar I add I just can’t salvage it.
Why this happens is still a mystery to me, and my best guess at this time is that it’s an issue with the potatoes. Perhaps they’re too old? Perhaps they’ve been boiled a minute too long? Not long enough? It may even have nothing to do with the potatoes (could it be the humidity?)!
If you have any suggestions I am ALL ears, I’ve spent so much time trying to solve this and have finally conceded the fact that this is just a risk of making this recipe. It only happens rarely now, especially now that I’ve learned to be so careful with cooling the potatoes (again, your most likely culprit), but it does still happen from time to time and I want you to be fully informed. It’s an issue that would typically cause me to not publish a recipe, but this is one that’s been in my family for generations and I felt it deserved publishing, just with a warning.
Alright, hopefully you now feel fully informed to make your own potato candy! Enjoy!
More Recipes You May Enjoy
Potato Candy
Ingredients
- ½ cup (105 g) plain mashed potatoes* see recipe notes for cooking instructions
- ½ cup (113 g) salted butter softened
- 6-7 cups (800-910 g) powdered sugar plus additional for dusting
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Creamy peanut butter for filling
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Combine mashed potatoes, butter, and one cup of sugar in a large bowl and use an electric mixer to stir until combined.½ cup (105 g) plain mashed potatoes*, ½ cup (113 g) salted butter, 6-7 cups (800-910 g) powdered sugar
- Add remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time and stirring until combined after each addition. Once you've added 6 cups of powdered sugar, check the consistency. If the dough is not moldable in your hands and can't be rolled into a ball, continue to add sugar until it is firm.
- Stir in vanilla extract.2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Refrigerate for at least 30-60 minutes (if you chill longer it may become too firm and brittle and will just need to sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes until it is pliable).
- Once chilled, divide dough into two pieces and place one piece on a clean surface that you've generously dusted with powdered sugar. Dust the surface of the dough with additional sugar, and use a rolling pin to roll dough out into a rectangle about ¼" thick (about 8x12"). If your dough is too sticky or falling apart, you may need to add more sugar, re-shape it into a ball, and start over.
- Once dough has been rolled into a rectangle, spread evenly with peanut butter, leaving a small amount of space peanut butter-free around the perimeter of the dough.Creamy peanut butter
- Starting with the longer side of your rectangle, gently but tightly roll into a log.
- Use a harp knife to cut into slices about ¼-½" thick.
- Repeat steps 5-8 with remaining half of dough.
- Serve and enjoy. Store leftover candy in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Notes
*Potatoes
Use russet potatoes. I recommend piercing your potatoes all over with a fork and heating in the microwave, rotating the potato every several minutes, until potato is tender when pierced with a fork. Then remove the potato filling from the jacket/skin and mash until smooth. I used to boil the potatoes and while this often works, I found this can sometimes cause the potatoes to retain water and make the mixture too watery to use. Mashed potatoes must cool completely before adding sugar. Otherwise they will melt the sugar and you will end up with a very runny mess. 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.Cinnamon Cigars
Another (peanut butter-free) version of this candy can be made by rolling the filling into cigar shapes and rolling in 2 Tablespoons of cinnamon for Cinnamon Cigar Candy. I've also used this potato candy recipe to make my old fashioned Easter Egg Candy.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Tatiana
Hi Sam,
I am wondering if you ever baked the potato instead of boiling it and if that made a difference. This is one of my most trusted sites and I find your tips invaluable! Thanks for all the help!
Sam
Hi Tatiana! You can use a baked potato. I actually tell you how I do it quickly in the notes below the recipe. 🙂
charlie
In my family we run the potatoes through a cheese cloth and let them hang for an hour. it REALLY makes a difference! there is usually not one drop of moister left. Ive also noticed you can’t make this type of candy on a humid day. The sugar will just absorb the water in the air. you can also bulk up your pb if its too runny with extra powder sugar.
Violet
Meg is totally right on this for the vast majority of recipe blogs. It’s annoying and I wish it could somewhat be curtailed by the recipe blog police, but alas. They’re out to lunch. However, this is the one recipe where such a hateful comment has no place being. It doesn’t make any sense. Your extra paragraphs were super helpful.
Seems like you got yourself there a boilerplate message attack from the sugar troll. Don’t even think twice about the salty comment. Thanks for the tips! And for sharing a family recipe! I have it chilling now. My work came up with …. A potato parade…. So I’m bringing some of this dish!! We don’t work with kids or anything. Just a bunch of adults in an office having a potato parade… happy st Patrick’s day! And f u, sugar troll.
Violet
Meg is totally right on this for the vast majority of recipe blogs. It’s annoying and I wish it could somewhat be curtailed by the recipe blog police, but alas. They’re out to lunch. However, this is the one recipe where such a hateful comment has no place being. It doesn’t make any sense. Your extra paragraphs were super helpful.
Seems like you got yourself there a boilerplate message attack from the sugar troll. Don’t even think twice about the salty comment. Thanks for the tips! And for sharing a family recipe! I have it chilling now. My work came up with …. A potato parade…. So I’m bringing some of this dish!! We don’t work with kids or anything. Just a bunch of adults in an office having a potato parade… happy st pricks day! And f u, sugar troll.
courtney
I used instant potatoes-
No matter what I did I could not get it to set up….Do you think this is why? Thanks
Sam
Hi Courtney! I haven’t tried it with instant potatoes, but I wonder if that was the issue. 🙁
Ally
My boyfriend is deathly allergic to peanuts but we’ve found sunflower butter to be a great substitute almost every time a recipe has called for peanut butter. Do you think sunflower butter would work here too?
Casey @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Ally! That should work.☺️
Debra Ann
5 stars all the way. Love these.
Casey @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so glad you love them, Debra Ann! 🙂
Caroline
You could try to continue cooking the mashed potatoes after mashing to reduce the amount of water in them and before you allow them to cool.
Meg
Why do people feel compelled to tell their life stories and self promote at every given opportunity in their lengthy preamble. Just get to the recipe! That’s why anyone clicked on your page. I guarantee you’d have more subscribers, if you were succinct and a little less egotistical. I don’t want to read Chicken Soup for the Soul, I want a recipe to make chicken soup. It’s the content you provide which should be considered first and foremost.
Sam
Hi, Meg! Just curious, what part of this blog post is self-promoting and egotistical? Is it the “Jump to recipe” button that you somehow missed at the top of my page so you can do exactly that, no preamble necessary? Is it the helpful hints and tips throughout the post for anyone curious or wanting to know more about the subject of this blog post, or anyone who may have struggled? Tell me more about where I shared my life story here (was it the word “grandmother” when I mentioned the origin of the recipe? Did that trigger you?).
Honestly, to come into my space that I created and to leave a comment like this, demanding I cater to your specific preferred format for the (free!) recipe, comes across as not only egotistical, but also super entitled. It’s also just really rude and annoying.
Anyway, look at me rambling again. I hope you enjoy the free recipe!
Old Grey Mare
I totally agree with Sam!
Foodiewife
It’s people like Meg who are so entitled that they feel it’s their right to be so rude to a food blogger. This recipe is being provided for FREE! How ungracious can one be?! In case you don’t want to read all the “stuff”, there is a JUMP TO RECIPE feature, so you can go straight to the recipe. I’ve been following Sam’s blog for a long time, and I think she’s incredibly talented. Her videos are so helpful and she has great recipes. We need more kindness in this world. I’m sorry, Sam, that you had to read this rude comment. You are loved!
nic
This and naner puddin’ was a staple from my Mom growing up, she is from Erwin TN. My friends all loved it till i told them the ingredients, don’t knock it till you try it.