Old Fashioned Potato Candy recipe made with mashed potatoes tastes like a Mounds bar! Only 5 ingredients to make this delicious chocolate covered potato candy.
I love baking and making treats around the holidays, and just recently tried this recipe for potato candy. And yes, I was a little wary about coating mashed potatoes with chocolate. I promise that if you add enough powdered sugar to mashed potatoes, you can’t even tell they are potatoes! These little treats are so simple to make and this is a great way to use up leftover mashed potatoes.
POTATO CANDY RECIPE
Old Fashioned Potato Candy is made by mixing mashed potatoes with powdered sugar, salt, coconut and almond extract. Roll the mixture into balls and chill before dipping into melted chocolate. That’s it! These little candies taste just like a Mounds bar!
INGREDIENTS IN OLD FASHIONED POTATO CANDY
Mashed potatoes – The recipe calls for 3/4 cup of hot mashed potatoes. You can use instant potatoes or you can make mashed potatoes the old-fashioned way if you prefer. This is such a great way to use up leftover mashed potatoes, but make sure they are plain and heat them up a little bit before mixing with the other ingredients.
Powdered sugar – You will need one pound of powdered sugar, or about 3 1/2 cups. That sounds like a lot, but you have to sweeten up those potatoes enough to taste like candy! If you don’t have any powdered sugar, you can make your own by putting granulated sugar in a blender and blend until it looks like powdered sugar. It’s not exactly the same texture, but it works great in many recipes!
Salt – Just a little bit of salt will help all of the other flavors to pop.
Coconut – You need one pound of sweetened flaked coconut. You can find this in the baking aisle at the grocery store. If you want to sprinkle a little bit of coconut on the top of the candy for decoration, save about 1/4-1/3 cup for the tops (unless you have another bag you want to open up).
Almond extract – Just a teaspoon of almond extract adds the best flavor to the candy.
Chocolate – You need 16 ounces of melting chocolate or chocolate almond bark. Regular milk chocolate is my favorite, but dark chocolate is also amazing and white chocolate works as well. Use whatever kind of chocolate you like best!
HOW TO MAKE POTATO CANDY
Mix all of the ingredients together.
Use a cookie scoop to scoop out mixture and roll into 1 inch balls. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Melt chocolate according to package directions and then dip the candy balls in the chocolate and place on wax paper. If you want to decorate them, you can place a few pieces of flaked coconut on top, or you could use decorative sprinkles too! Chill in the refrigerator.
OLD FASHIONED POTATO CANDY
Ingredients
- ¾ cup hot mashed potatoes
- 1 lb powdered sugar 3 ½ cups
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 lb flaked coconut
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 16 oz melting chocolate Candiquik/almond bark
Instructions
- Mix all of the ingredients together (except the chocolate).
- Use a cookie scoop to scoop out mixture and roll into 1 inch balls. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Melt chocolate according to package directions and then dip the candy balls in the chocolate and place on wax paper. If you want to decorate them, you can place a few pieces of flaked coconut on top, or you could use decorative sprinkles too! Chill in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
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WHAT KIND OF MASHED POTATOES IN POTATO CANDY?
You can use instant or regular mashed potatoes, but the plainer the better. You want them to be as flavorless as possible so you don’t want a lot of salt, butter, sour cream or garlic in your candy recipe. If you are making the potatoes just for this recipe, go ahead and use them right away while they are hot. If you are using refrigerated leftover potatoes, heat them up a little bit in the microwave before mixing them with the other ingredients. If they are cold, it’s much harder to mix everything else in.
CAN I USE CHOCOLATE CHIPS INSTEAD OF MELTING CHOCOLATE?
Absolutely! You can use melting chocolate, chocolate wafers, or chocolate chips depending on what you have on hand, can find in a store, or would prefer to use. This recipe is pretty versatile so you can even swap out the chocolate flavor for a different variety like milk chocolate or a colored chocolate if trying to fit into a festive party theme. If you use chocolate chips or wafers you may want to add a 1/2-1 teaspoon of shortening before melting to help smooth it out a little bit.
CAN I FREEZE POTATO CANDIES?
Yes, keep your candies stored in an airtight container after they’ve fully cooled and set. Then place in the freezer for 4-5 months and thaw before eating. You can thaw the candies quickly and easily by simply placing them on the counter.
HOW TO STORE OLD FASHIONED POTATO CANDY
These candies are best when chilled, so you can store them in the refrigerator for at least 2-3 weeks in an airtight container.
WHY DOES CHOCOLATE SEIZE?
Melting chocolate can be a little frustrating if you’ve never done it before. The reason is because chocolate can seize easily if it gets too hot. The most common culprits are water and overcooking. I don’t EVER use water to help chocolate melt. When chocolate seizes due to overcooking, it actually looks like it’s not melted yet, which prompts people to return it to the microwave and makes the whole thing worse. The result is a clumpy, grainy mess!
HOW TO PREVENT CHOCOLATE FROM SEIZING:
- The key is to melt the chocolate SLOWLY. Make sure to stir after each interval in the microwave. Sometimes the chocolate won’t look completely melted, but as you stir, it continues to melt.
- Add a small amount of shortening to the chocolate. This is completely optional and the chocolate will melt without it, but it does thin it out a little bit and the shortening helps to smooth it all out. If your chocolate is showing beginning signs of seizing, melt 1/2 tsp shortening in a separate bowl and gently stir into your chocolate. If it’s smoothing out, you can add another 1/2 tsp of shortening.
ENJOY EASY HOLIDAY CANDY RECIPES? HERE ARE MORE WE LOVE:
- Easy Oreo Balls
- Buckeye Balls Candy
- Saltine Cracker Toffee recipe
- Tiger Butter Fudge
- Easy Chocolate Peppermint Patties
- Chocolate Raspberry Sticks
- Raspberry Jelly Candy
- Easy Mint Chocolates
- Homemade Almond Joy Bars
- Microwave Pumpkin Spiced Caramels
- Chocolate Peppermint Truffles
- Martha Washington Candy (Coconut Pecan Truffles)
- Rolo Pretzel Turtles
- Peanut Clusters
- Cherry Jelly Hearts Candy
- Homemade Chocolate Orange Sticks
Old Fashioned Potato Candy recipe made with mashed potatoes tastes like a Mounds bar! Only 5 ingredients to make this delicious chocolate covered potato candy.
Justine says
This was a really interesting take on potato candy – I like it WAY better than the traditional method rolled up with peanut butter. And Mounds are my favorite candy, so I will DEFINITELY be making this often!
Shadi says
Oh wow, this looks so delicious. My family is going to devour it!
Beth says
We call these Needhams! Flatten coconut mixture in a sheet pan, chill, cut in squares, dip in chocolate. Yummy. Add almonds and call them Almost Almond Joys.
Jessica says
Interesting! Sounds good to me!
Jill Baker says
My grandmother gave me the potato candy recipe in the 50’s which I still make but its rolled out into a flat sheet after you add as much powdered sugar as you can. You then spread it with peanut butter, roll the sheet up and cut into little rolls. But your right, no one believes its made from mashed potatoes.
Might have to try doing it this way this year. Thanks
Jessica says
I’m finding this is one of those recipes that has so many different variations!
Susan says
In the instructions you might want to say to mix everything except the chocolate together. Novice cooks might not know to hold out the chocolate for dipping until too late. 😉
Nellie says
Thanks for the suggestion! I just added that!