No Foolin', Baked Potato Candy

Baked Potato Candy

This one is from the old days, fun to make with the kids or grandkids at Christmas time.

½ pound semi-sweet chocolate chopped – in the old days they used the powdered chocolate, if you know how you can substitute it for the pieces

½ Cup potatoes (bake and peel, then mash up nicely)

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup shredded coconut

1 lb confectioners/powdered sugar

Directions

1. In the top of a double boiler, heat chocolate, stirring some as you go, get the chocolate  melted nice and smooth. (now remember this is an, old time, recipe, but if you are more into modern livin’ melt in the microwave, just check it a lot as you go, won’t take but a couple of minutes.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the potato, (this is a baked, not boiled or fried potato, and no ground up potato chips, they will not work, tried it) salt and vanilla. Sift the confectioners sugar over potato, stirring and adding about a 1/3 at a time. Then another 1/3, save the last bit. Mixture will liquefy when first sugar is added then gradually begin to thicken. (Not sure why all these candy recipes call for confectioners sugar, haven’t used that term much in my 65 years. By the way a confection is defined as a very sweet food, must be all that powdered sugar.
3. When it reaches the consistency of stiff dough, knead it until it evens out; remember not all the sugar has been added yet. Add the rest of the sugar and kneed again. This might sound a little too needy, but it only takes a few minutes.
4. After kneading, cover with a damp cloth and chill until a small spoonful can be rolled into a ball. Shape in small 1/2 inch balls. Dip balls in melted chocolate then roll in coconut.

*Note- when writing this recipe up for your friends, make sure you spell kneading with a K, not, needing with an N and definitely not kneeling, I did see that once, nice laugh, that’s for church.

 

** Note #2 this is the place where the word yield is used to let everyone know how many pieces of candy this will make. Well not here, yield, depends on how big you make them, but should be about a dozen (12), if you make them my size.