How To Make Old-Fashioned Potato Candy

Creme De La Crumb

Baking sweet treats for the holiday season can be easier said than done. Even the most experienced of bakers have encountered those major fails where what went into the oven and what came out look entirely different. And candy-making … well, that’s on a whole other level.

But thankfully, there are easy-to-make, no-baking-required candies out there. So, if you’ve been debating about what your contribution to the dessert table would be this year, meet your No. 1 contender.

The Creme de la Crumb blog points out that it’s super simple to whip up some potato candy no matter your skill level as a baker because it requires so few ingredients and needs no time in the oven.

In case you’re unfamiliar, potato candy is an old-fashioned recipe that likely dates back more than a century. Potato candy was likely introduced by Irish immigrants, store owner Michael Holahan, who carries Irish Potato candies, told the Coca-Cola Company.

While the idea of using a potato as the base for a candy may seem odd, the Creme de la Crumb blog assures that these candies are absolutely delicious and don’t at all taste like a potato in the end. This version calls for nothing more than a potato, powdered sugar, peanut butter and the option to add vanilla.

Once the candy base of mashed potato and powdered sugar has created a dough-like consistency, the peanut butter is used as a filler. Once rolled, the candy will resemble a log that’s ready to be sliced and then devoured:

Creme De La Crumb

You’d never know a potato was ever involved!

There are several different variations of this candy, too.

In a different approach to potato candy, a recipe from Greg’s Kitchen adds coconut to the batter and then covers it in chocolate. Yum!:

Greg's Kitchen

This recipe from Diary of a Mad Hausfrau takes the chocolate-covered version a bit further and coats the outside of the candies in peanuts, too:

diaryofamadhausfrau.com

A recipe from Garden & Gun swaps russet potatoes for sweet potatoes and adds peanut butter for a more fall-ready approach to the Creme de la Crumb recipe.

And then there are even Irish potato candies you can make that don’t contain potatoes at all — they just resemble them. This version from Sugar & Soul Co. uses butter and cream cheese in the place of potatoes. The sweets are then covered in cinnamon:

Sugar and Soul Co

Pretty adorable, huh?

So, who’s ready to try their hand at potato candy this holiday season? If they’re as easy and delicious as they seem, you may have found your new go-to dessert recipe. Enjoy!

Food, Holiday & Seasonal

About the Author
Augusta Statz
I have a B.F.A. in Writing from the Savannah College of Art and Design. I’m an avid writer with a genuine sense of curiosity. I feel the best way to absorb the world around you is through fashion, art and food, so that’s what I spend most of my time writing about.

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