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.
Alisa M.
My mom used to make this candy. I never asked for the recipe so I’m so happy to have found you. Im going to make them this year and see how my family likes them. I LOVE Potato candy. And the No bake chocolate and P.B/Oats cookies.
Thank you for your great recipes.
Sam
You’re welcome Alisa! I hope everyone loves it! 🙂
Amanda jo
I have grown up with potato candy and anytime I mention it, people think I’m nuts! I finally remembered to ask my grandpa his recipe, not difference is that he doesn’t use butter in the dough. Does the butter have a purpose besides flavor?
Sam
Hi Amanda! The butter has a couple of purposes here. It enriches the flavors as well as binds the dough. 🙂
Mel
I’m looking forward to trying these.
I wonder if you have ever had Needhams? It’s a very similar New England candy. They have coconut in them and are dripped in chocolate. There’s a great recipe and step by step instructions on Yankee magazine’s website.
Sam
I have not but I’m definitely going to check them out!
Becky
Can you freeze this candy for later date??
Sam
Hi Becky! I haven’t tried freezing it, but I don’t see any reason you wouldn’t be able to. 🙂
Silvana
I’ve had these so many times and every time they remind me of childhood! I’m wondering if anyone here has tried alternatives to powdered sugar like stevia?
Sam
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Silvana! I haven’t personally tried stevia, but I would be worried it being much too sweet for the amount you would need to use.
Julia Ross
Swerve makes a confectioners sugar alternative. That’s what I’m using to make these today!
Kathy
Wonder if it’s ok to steam the potato, not boil?
Sam
I think that wouldn’t be a problem at all.
Rebecva
These are great. Suoer sweet but my dad loves tuem. He just told me that it takes him back to when he was a young man in the aervice and his mom (my grandmother) sent him a box of these!💓
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much! 🙂
MARILYN PITTS
Always heard you needed to cut potato into sugar, just as you would cut shortening into flour for pie crust. Otherwise you would very likely end up with a watery mess.
Sam
Interesting. Thanks for the tip! 🙂
Carol Hildebrand
My first time making this many years ago like 40 years, I didn’t use butter with the recipe and mine also came out watery. Not wanting to use all the powdered sugar, I took half the dough out and it finally formed into a dough ball after adding more sugar. I now use about 1/3 cup of potatoe instead of 1/2 cup.
Taylor G
I just tried this out and mine turned out so watery, the sugar just wouldn’t make it into a dough. I didn’t want it all to go to waste so I added flour to get to a dough form. It’s currently in the fridge with peanut butter and Nutella! I think they’ll turn out good, but they also tastes kind of like sugar cookie dough
Sam
I’m glad you were able to salvage it. 🙂
Old Grey Mare
I guess it is too late now [i.e. if you were going to get food poisoning], but you are not supposed to use flour in making any food that is going to be eaten uncooked. Search the internet for “problem with uncooked flour”. A lot of people are unaware of this because of being told for decades not to eat uncooked cookie dough because of the raw eggs in it (and because flour is infrequently contaminated, but we shouldn’t take the risk). There are methods of baking the raw flour to make it safe, but using more sugar or some instant potato flakes would be safer.
Gayle
Growing up I made this candy with my mom and grandma. This was my Dad’s favorite! We never put butter in ours. I wonder if that may be the problem. We used leftover mashed russet potatoes that had been chilled. We also used crunchy peanut butter sometimes. I never thought about coloring them red and green for Christmas. I just may have to do that this year!!
This recipe was passed down through several generations on both sides of my family via my Pennsylvania Dutch (German: Mennonite/Amish) relatives who moved from Pennsylvania to Nappanee/Goshen, Indiana. I’m 66 so I have been making them since I was a small girl. My mom was part Irish and with Pennsylvania Dutch roots as well, and she made them as a child. Have you ever made Snickerdoodle cookies? They originated with the Mennonite/Amish also.
Thank you so much for sharing your recipe with the beautiful picture. It brought back so many good memories for me, as those family members have passed on.
I’m so glad I found your blog because I really like it!
Sam
Thank you so much for your kind comment, Gayle! I actually have a snickerdoodle cookie recipe on my website. I am actually fairly close to Pennsylvania so I have had some Amish treats before, good stuff! 🙂
Nora
Have you tried baking the potato then ricing them, as when you make gnocchi?
Sam
Hi Nora! I have not but I will next time I do it. I think it’s a great idea. 🙂
Char
They’re great in red and green for Christmas. We’ve made them for years.
Judy
When I was teaching, I received these as a gift from a student, along with the recipe! A special gift!
Sam
That is an awesome gift! 🙂
Judy
Yes! A treasured keepsake!!
Tammy
We never used fresh boiled potatoes, we always used leftover mashed potatoes from a meal. Butter was already in the taters. We added a little more but not much. Our fam never had enough potatoes to save anyway so we just made the candy for dessert.
Mary Wilcox
Hi there. After you boil the potatoes and drain them, while they are still hot, Place them back into the pan. Place the pan on a low burner for a few minutes to dry the excess water out of the potatoes. They have a tendency to store water. You may even hear the pan sizzle. Watch then. You’ll see the potatoes loose their wet appearance. Stir them… once the sizzle stops or they all look dull white.. the excess water has been removed.
Hope that helps!
Sam
Thanks for the tip, Mary! I’ll have to give it a try. 🙂
Sherry Slavin
I have always boiled the potato in it’s skin. Also, I don’t use vanilla, I use almond extract. I’ve made this for years and people look at me crazy when I mention them. I usually make them and don’t tell them what they are until I know they eaten one and think it’s good. LOL
Sam
😂 My husband won’t touch it because he says, “Candy shouldn’t be made with potatoes.” He doesn’t know what he’s missing.
Char
My dad would never eat moms peanut butter fudge because it used cream cheese. She made a batch without the cream cheese one year. After he ate a plateful, she admitted she’d lied. LOL
Sam
🤣 That sounds like something I’d do to my husband!
Patti Stone
My mother used to make this, but she always cooked her potato “in the jacket”. That may solve your problem of occasional watery batches because the potato would stay drier.
Sam
Thanks for the tip, Patti! I will definitely have to try that in the future. 🙂
Shi
My grandmother would cook her potatoes in the jacket as well.
And, sometimes, the watery is the butter. Cheap butter can ruin candy and fudge and frosting. Or sometimes a well liked butter will change their ratios (I had this happen) and it will ruin your candy.
Adam
I’ve always cooked my potatoes and mashed them up while they are hot. I have never heard off letting them cool down or putting butter in them. Lol. Just add your sugar cup at a time it will look runny at first and then start to thicken. Most people don’t realize just how much sugar u need to how little potatoes it takes to make potato candy. 2-3 potatoes is all u need to make 2 rolls about 12in long.