Where did the candy Irish potato originate from?
I first ate potato candy circa 1966 at the Pennsylvania Dutch
Fair in Lancaster, PA. I have a recipe for it in an old PA Dutch
cookbook. My 'dutch' mother used to tell me it was the old German's
way of not wasting leftover potatoes. So I'm assuming it's German.
It's Pennsylvania Dutch. My 'dutch' mother said it was a thirty
German's way of using leftover potatoes. Here's the recipe from The
New Pennsylvania Dutch Cook Book Copyright 1958, submitted by Mrs.
Elwood Shaub 1 baked potato Confectioners' sugar Vanilla Melted
chocolate As soon as the potato is baked, warm a mixing bowl and
scoop the potato from its skin. Mash and add confectioners' sugar,
stirring and adding until mixture can be kneaded with the hands.
Knead well, keeping warm, add vanilla and form into small balls.
Dip quickly into melted chocolate kept warm over hot water and drop
on waxed paper. Or shape like Easter eggs and dip. Potato balls can
be flattened and topped with English walnut halves, the mixture can
be used to stuff dates, which are then rolled in sugar, or it can
be rolled out like dough, spread with peanut butter, rolled up and
sliced, then dipped in coconut. I find that if you follow this you
will have a large bowl of mush!! I recommend you start with a very
small amount of potato and mix in the Confectioners' sugar. I never
bother with the vanilla or the kneading, I just take the
potato/sugar mix, make a ball of it and roll it out on a
Confectioners' sugared surface, about a 1/4" thick. Then I spread
creamy peanut butter on it and roll this into a tube. Before it
hardens I slice this into 1/4" pieces. This will harden nicely.
Very delicious. A second generation PA Dutch New England
transplant, SB.