Although the Great Depression may be an abstraction to some of us, many of us probably have family members who actually lived through that trying time. Right on the heels of a big stock boom in the 1920s, the United States economy plummeted and left many people without jobs and sometimes without homes. As a result of economic pressures, many families had to get thrifty and creative with their cooking to provide the same creature comforts as they had before.
As a result, some very creative recipes came about that actually hold up and are still just as delicious as they were at the time. The recipe we’re making today for old-fashioned potato candy is one of those recipes. Although potatoes are the most popular American vegetable, we rarely to think to use them in a sweet way rather than a savory one. Fortunately, this recipe fixes that in the most delicious way. After you try this, there’s a good chance you’ll come back to it again and again. So let’s get started.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 6 cups of powdered sugar (plus extra)
- 1/2 cup of mashed and cooled russet potato
- 1/3 cup of creamy peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon of milk
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla
- 1/8 teaspoon of salt
Here’s what you do:
1. To begin, get out a large mixing bowl and mash together your potatoes, milk, vanilla and salt. Though you can do this by hand with a fork as well, an electric mixer will do the job in two minutes set on medium.
2. After that, add in your powdered sugar one cup at a time and keep mixing until the entire thing turns into a kind of dough. Keep repeating this process until all six cups are in. By the end, your dough should be only slightly thicker than your average cookie dough. If it’s not there yet, continue adding powdered sugar one tablespoon at at time.
3. With that done, roll your potato dough into a ball and dust it with some additional powdered sugar. Next, tear off a sheet of parchment or wax paper and put your dough on it, rolling it out into a rectangle that’s about an eighth-inch thick. When it looks good, trim it down slightly to be 10×12 inches.
4. Sprinkle an additional thin layer of powdered sugar on top of the dough and put parchment paper on top of it. Turn the whole sheet of dough over and throw away the sheet that was previously on the bottom. Finally, spread your peanut butter evenly over the dough on that side.
5. Once your peanut butter is down, carefully roll the dough from long side to long side, using the paper to guide it if necessary. When you’re done, wrap the roll in parchment paper and freeze it for an hour. After that, slice it into quarter-inch pieces and serve!
Although this recipe may seem a little unusual, the results are a soft and delicious candy roll that is perfect for holidays or for any backyard parties you may be throwing. Preparing the ingredients should only take about 20 minutes before you freeze it and slice into it. Best of all? It doesn’t require any baking! If you were looking for a new dessert recipe that’s also a blast from the past, you may want to give this recipe a try. As always, have fun with it and let us know how it goes!
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