Happy Foodie Friday, dear reader. I hope your Thanksgiving was filled with family, friends, laughter, and all the best food. If your family is like ours, we will eat leftovers for at least a week. My bib overall wonder buns is a bit of a pickle when it comes to eating leftovers. I blame this 100% on his mom, GramBarb.
GramBarb is the superwoman of moms. Her house is always impeccably clean; she has the energy/strength of ten women; she is a fantastic cook; she can sew, knit, crochet, and garden; she is excellent with finances and still has time/energy to play. She has set me up for failure with her unrealistic standards and the fine example she set for her son. Sigh. Not only can GramBarb do all of the aforementioned, but she cooks three meals a day. That’s right; she cooks breakfast, lunch, and dinner. She did this the entire time Eric was living at home. Boy, was he in for a rude awakening when he married me.
My rule of thumb is that I will cook two meals daily, and one must be super easy and not time-consuming. You can have a hot breakfast and dinner, a hot lunch and dinner, or a hot breakfast and lunch, but I refuse to cook three hot meals a day. My philosophy is, “eat your Lucky Charms and like it or go hungry.” My philosophy is not wildly popular with The Bibbed Wonder, but he continues to thrive regardless of my refusal to cook three hot meals daily.
He also, annoyingly, refuses to eat microwaved leftovers. Sigh. He requires all leftovers to be turned into something new and exciting. At the very least, he requires leftovers to be heated in the oven or the stovetop. Why can’t he just be satisfied with microwaved leftovers from a meal I labored over for days? Oh no, the turkey must be turned into turkey gravy over biscuits. Stuffing and turkey must be turned into an exotic casserole that dirties multiple pans and must cook in the oven for at least thirty minutes. Why, oh why, can’t he just slap some turkey on Wonder Bread and call it good? Sigh.
Mashed potatoes cannot acceptably be reheated and served with reheated gravy. Even mashed potatoes must be turned into something new, different, and exotic. You may ask what a frugal farm wife does with leftover mashed potatoes. Well, the answer, dear reader, is to turn it into candy, of course. That’s correct; mashed potatoes can be turned into a tasty sweet treat. Of course, making said candy is a messy process that requires much time and effort to clean up. However, this delectable treat is worth the effort.
Until I met the Smay family, I had never heard of, let alone eaten, potato candy. I remember my first Christmas with the Smay family was when I was introduced to potato candy. I was apprehensive about trying it because mashed potatoes with peanut butter sound disgusting. Little did I know the ratio of mashed potatoes in the candy is minute compared to the use of powdered sugar. Really, the mashed potatoes simply act as a binding agent for all that sugar. It was a unique taste that was surprisingly pleasing.
Today, dear reader, we will put up our Christmas tree, display our nativity scene, magically and messily turn leftovers into something new and exciting, and probably do a lot of eye-rolling and sighing while cooking said food. It will be a wonder if not a single “Dammit, Eric!” is not uttered today. I am not optimistic. Without further adieu, GramBarb’s recipe for Potato Candy.
GramBarb’s Potato Candy
Ingredients:
½ Cup Mashed Potatoes
1 Stick Salted Butter
6-7 Cups Powdered Sugar
2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
Creamy Peanut Butter
Directions:
Combine mashed potatoes, butter, and one cup of sugar in a large bowl and use an electric mixer to stir until combined.
Add remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, and stir until blended after each addition. Once you’ve added 6 cups of powdered sugar, check the consistency. If the dough is not moldable in your hands and can’t be rolled into a ball, continue to add sugar until it is firm.
Stir in vanilla extract.
Refrigerate for at least 1 hour (if you chill longer, it may become too firm and brittle and need to sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes until it is pliable).
Once chilled, divide the dough into two pieces and place one piece on a clean surface that you’ve generously dusted with powdered sugar. Dust the surface of the dough with additional sugar, and use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a rectangle about ¼” thick.
If your dough is too sticky or falling apart, you may need to add more sugar, re-shape it into a ball, and start over.
Once the dough has been rolled into a ¼” thick rectangle, spread evenly with peanut butter, leaving a small amount of space peanut butter-free around the perimeter of the dough.
Starting with the longer side of your rectangle, gently but tightly roll into a log.
Use a knife to slice into pieces about ¼-½” thick.
Repeat steps 5-8 with the remaining half of the dough.
Serve and enjoy—store leftover candy in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Potato candy is a simple recipe to use leftover mashed potatoes. If one did not know the recipe, one would never know it included mashed potatoes. My wish is that your table is filled with good friends and food, you don’t have a “pickle” who won’t eat leftovers, and you rest and recover from the holiday. May blessings and abundance overflow.
On this Black Friday, stay safe, be smart, read your email for promo codes of savings, enjoy the blessings of the season, and wash your hands. Especially if you make potato candy, it’s one mess-making recipe.