Grandma Stone’s Poor Man’s Candy

Hello folks and welcome back to the All Things Southern kitchen!  When I was a little girl, my Grandma Stone would make us kids something she called Potato Candy. I love both the unique melt in your mouth flavor and the memories it inspires. Granted, I figured out long ago that the name didn’t exactly make peoples’ mouth water but it was only recently that my cousin Jeff, who is also a serious fan of the sweet treat, told me that he had heard it called Poor Man’s Candy. I decided that a name change was just what the cook order. Last week, I needed to cheer a friend, and I was running short on time, and I had the ingredients for Poor Man’s Candy on hand. It was an easy call. And seeing as how my buddy was an instant fan, too, I decided I simply must share the recipe with y’all, my lovely readers. Let me show you how to stir up this delicious confection!

“Grandma Stone’s Poor Man Candy”

1 small potato (about the size of an egg)
1 box confectioners’ sugar
¼ to ½ cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
I’ve gotten us started by peeling and boiling a small potato, about the size of an egg. Once the potato is soft enough to pierce easily with a fork, I removed it, drained the water and let it cool.

Now, we’re going to put the potato in a mixing bowl and begin mashing it up with our fork. Then we’re going to take a box of confectioners’ sugar and begin working it into the potato. This isn’t an exact science folks. What we want to do is use enough of the confectioners’ sugar to make a thick confection. It’ll need to have a cookie dough consistency. Once we get it there, we’ll stir in a teaspoon of vanilla extract and then we’ll spread it out on a piece of wax paper, forming a rectangle. Now, for the peanut butter. We’re going to spread peanut butter across down the center of the sweet confection and roll it up like you would a jelly roll or pecan roll. Chill it in the fridge and then slice it up into thin ¼ slices of pure deliciousness. You’ve gotta try Poor Man’s Candy, folks. It’s mighty sweet eating from my late Grandma Stone’s kitchen and the kitchen of All Things Southern to yours.

Hugs,
Shellie