Grammy's Potato CandyChefs Dear Sir: The following is a contribution to Sunset Magazine's Chefs of the West. My Pennsylvania Dutch grandmother taught me how to make potato candy when I was about six. It is typical of the many frugal and delicious things she could do with potatoes. Potatoes were a mainstay. One of my aunts could set a table with potato bread, potato puffs (sort of like a sopapilla), mashed potatoes, roast potatoes, and offer potato candy as a dessert. Of course her husband was a potato farmer. I once saw my father jokingly criticize my mother because she served a pasta meal without a potato dish. Grammy's Potato CandyJames Speed Hensinger 1 large baking potato 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 1 pound powdered sugar 1/8 pound butter 1 cup (approximately) peanut butter Boil the potato in water until tender and remove from water. Reserve the hot water. Soften the peanut butter by standing the jar in the hot potato water. Under cold running water, slip the skin off the potato and discard skin. Mash potato, and add vanilla, sugar and butter. Mash/mix thoroughly. On a sheet of wax paper, spread the potato mixture into a rectangle about an 1/8 or 3/16 of an inch thick and spread over the sheet of potato mixture a thinner layer of peanut butter. Roll the layers like a jelly roll, with the potato layer on the outside. Refrigerate the roll until chilled and firm. Slice the roll into 1/4 inch thick pinwheels. Place the pinwheels on a sheet of waxpaper on a cookie sheet and cover with another sheet of wax paper to prevent dehydration. Keep refrigerated until service. Enjoy! |