Peanut Butter Pinwheels Potato Candy

In spite of the name Peanut Butter Pinwheels Potato Candy, this is surprisingly an excellent treat. It is easy to make, too. No one would ever guess that the secret ingredient in this candy is a potato.  But not just any potato will work. You need to use a Russet potato.  Any other kind of potato will not work, and neither will instant potatoes.

The recipe is almost fool-proof. You don't really need to use measurements, but these are here as a guideline. The recipe can be made smaller or larger, depending on how much you want to make.  

Directions

1/2 c. mashed russet potatoes
2 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt
6 to 8 c. powdered sugar
1/2 to 2/3 creamy peanut butter

Directions

Fill a medium saucepan with cold water. Wash and peel the potatoes. Cut the potatoes into cubes or quarter them and put them in the pot of water. Bring the water to a boil and cook until the potatoes are soft.  Drain the potatoes.

Mash the potatoes with a fork, potato masher or an electric mixer. Try to get the potatoes as smooth as possible.  

Add the vanilla and salt to the mashed potatoes. Mix well.

Stir in one cup of the powdered sugar.  Mix well. The mixture will turn runny when you do this. Don't worry, as that is what it is supposed to do.   Continue adding and mixing in the powdered sugar until the dough becomes stiff.  Add a layer of powdered sugar to your clean counter or on a sheet of parchment paper or waxed paper. Turn the candy dough out onto the counter. Knead in more powdered sugar until the dough is the consistency of play dough.  Continue to knead or work with the dough until it is smooth and no longer sticks to your hands.

Dust the work surface and your rolling pin with powdered sugar.

Form the dough into a rectangle and dust the top with more powdered sugar.   Roll the dough out into a rectangle. The thickness should be about 1/4 inch thick. However, you can make this as thick or thin as you like, but don't make it too thin, or it will crack, and your candy will not look very pretty.   

Once you have the dough rolled out, spread the peanut butter across the top evenly.  Do not spread the peanut butter out to the edge of the dough. Leave a small amount of space between the peanut butter and the edge. 

Starting with the long side, slowly and carefully begin to roll up the dough into a log shape, working from one side to the other.  You can use a dough blade if the dough sticks to your countertop, or paper.  

Wrap the candy log in the parchment or waxed paper that you were using to roll the dough out on. Or you can use plastic wrap. This helps the peanut butter potato log to hold its shape 

Refrigerate until firm. Slice the candy and serve.

Notes:

If the mixture becomes too dry while kneading, add a bit more of your mashed potato. 

If the mixture is too wet, just add more powdered sugar.