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Potato candy
Published: 3/19/2008 9:47 AM
Last Modified: 3/19/2008 9:47 AM

Have you all ever made potato candy?

It's one of those recipes you will find in old community cookbooks, the ones with yellowed pages and recipe credits for women named Jean, Blanche, Sue and Mary.

That's not a discredit. I love these books. I love that these women were asked to submit recipes and turned in their very best to forever be preserved in spiral-bound books with laminated covers.

Again, potato candy is a recipe you would find in such a book. Some say it's a Depression-era invention, which makes sense. It was one of those recipes that always intrigued me, so a couple of years ago I gave it a try. Now it's an Easter tradition.

My favorite type of potato candy is the Easter egg. The base of the candy is made with a mixture of a boiled and mashed potato and powdered sugar. You can flavor it with peanut butter, mint, coconut, anything you want. Then form it in the shape of an egg, and dip it in chocolate.

Here's my favorite recipe, which comes from Paula Deen's "The Lady & Sons Just Desserts."

Miss Helen's Easter Eggs

2 medium-size white potatoes
Salt
Water
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, sliced
2 boxes (16 ounces each) confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla
Flavor variations (recipes follow), if desired
1/2 pound chocolate bars, melted, for dipping

1. Cook the potatoes in a small amount of boiling salted water until soft. Drain, peel and mash. Place the butter in a bowl. Add the mashed potatoes, blend well and allow the potatoes to cool.
2. If the confectioners' sugar is lumpy, sift it. Add the confectioners' sugar and vanilla to the cooled potatoes. Knead the mixture by hand until smooth. Mold into the shape and size of eggs. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
3. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler. Cool slightly, then, using a slotted spoon, dip the eggs into the chocolate, coating them entirely. Place on a rack or baking sheet to drain, then transfer to wax paper to harden.

Flavor variations:

Chocolate: Sift 1/4 cup cocoa powder with the confectioners' sugar, then add to the mashed potato mixture

Nuts: Add 1/2 cup chopped nuts as you knead

Fruit: Add 1/2 cup minced candied fruit or maraschino cherries (well drained) and a few drops of red food coloring as you knead

Coconut: Add 1/2 cup flaked coconut

Peanut butter: Add chunky or creamy, to taste

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cr (5 years ago)

I've rolled the potato candy "dough" very thin, spread it with peanut butter, rolled it like a jelly roll and cut it into pinwheels. Very pretty if you have colored the "dough".

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Taste

Food Writer Nicole Marshall Middleton joined the Tulsa World in May 1993 after graduating from Oklahoma State University. She has covered crime, city government and general assignment beats during that time - but mostly crime. But when she isn’t at work, Nicole is a devoted food hobbyist. She enjoys meal planning and cooking with her husband, Steve, every day of the week and on holidays it’s a family affair. When the opportunity to become the food writer at the Tulsa World presented itself in the summer of 2011, Nicole jumped at it. She is excited to explore a new side of Tulsa and make the transition from crime to cuisine. .

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Past Articles By Nicole Marshall Middleton

2/16/2013		Valentine's weekend is last call for hearts
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2/13/2013		Eggs and croutons made from the heart
2/12/2013		Puff pastry a timely bit of food from the heart
2/10/2013		Nothing conjures love more than chocolate
2/9/2013		Chocolate filigree hearts great for Valentine's Day cupcakes
2/9/2013		Leftovers inspire a Valentine treat
2/7/2013		Have you tried cacao nibs?
2/7/2013		Mardi Gras mystery: Strange events at S & J Oyster Co. lead to talk of haunting
2/7/2013		What are you ...? with the King and Queen of Blue Dome District's Mardi Gras parade

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