The Ohio Hale's Potato Candy Recipe

(just so I don't lose this again!)
Grandma Ruth's Potato Candy

1 medium potato-peeled
2 packages 10x (Confectioners') sugar (2 lbs total) Divided
1 tbsp vanilla extract (don't use imitation!)
A Good Pinch of Salt (approx 1/8 tsp)
Food coloring (optional)
Peanut Butter- approx 1 1/2 cups - 2 cups

Boil potato until fully cooked (can be chopped up for faster cooking).

  Drain and put potato in a medium mixing bowl- not plastic! 

Mash & mix with 1 cup 10x sugar- potato will turn to liquid. 

Add 1 tbsp vanilla and a pinch of salt. 

Add food coloring of choice. There's no NEED to color this, it's just as good plain, but where is the fun in that?

 Mix well. My Dad always uses green, my brother always uses purple, Grandma Ruthie uses Green mostly and red sometimes, but never just red by itself, that would be weird. 

Slowly add 1 1/2  bags of 10x sugar (you may need the rest of that second bag if your potato is larger) until you get a firm pie dough consistency. 

You can dust your counter-top with more 10x sugar, or use wax paper dusted with sugar to contain the mess- bonus- you can use the wax paper to make rolling up easier. Either way, dusting the surface is needful as this stuff can stick like tar on a new car.

 Roll out- cut down as needed to form a rectangle roughly 1/4 inch thick. You don't necessarily NEED to make it a rectangle, that just helps it look nicer when you go to serve it in the end- no oddball bits at the end of the roll. Feel free to skip that part if you're only serving it to family- they won't care as long as it tastes yummy.

Smear peanut butter approx. 1/4" thick across surface (or more if you like lots of pb taste). 

Remember: Do NOT roll the wax paper INTO your roll, just use the wax paper to CONTAIN the roll. Nobody likes the taste of wax paper...

 Roll up, slice your roll in half so you have two shorter, easier to manage rolls, chill for at least 2 hours, then slice to serve. (Best when stored in an airtight container in the fridge, but storage isn't really an issue unless you make this when no one is coming over... and even then storage might not be an issue).

As you might guess, I got this recipe from my Dad, who got it from his mother, and there aren't many actual measurements in Grandma Ruth's cooking. (Grandma Ruth's cooking is UNBELIEVABLY GOOD- mostly because she's had so much practice at it that she no longer needs measurements- Karen, I think you've heard me whining & pitching a hissy when my sister calls to tell me she's eating Grandma's cheesy potatoes- they're so good that it's a crying shame to miss out.) I finally got the real measurements nailed down after consulting and sampling many other recipes, but while this always turns out very well, it just isn't Grandma Ruthie's level of good. I think she secretly adds cocaine or heroin, or maybe some nutmeg to the peanut butter...

Alternate makings:

You can also leave the peanut butter out and just roll it into balls, and eat like that or dip it into melted chocolate, but oh my goodness, I love the peanut butter!

You could also use nutella or a soy butter or some such nonsense if you need to substitute for allergy reasons or if you are some barbarian that doesn't like peanut butter. Savage. Who doesn't like peanut butter?! Even people that are allergic to it love the taste! There's just that whole puffy-gasping-probably-dying part...