Cookbook:Potato Candy Pinwheel

| American cuisine

Potato candy pinwheel, sometimes shortened to just potato candy, is an Appalachian rolled candy prepared by mixing mashed potatoes with large amounts of powdered sugar to create a dough-like consistency, and then adding a filling, traditionally peanut butter, and rolling the confectionery to produce a log-like product.

Dough

 * ½ medium-sized potato, preferably russet or sweet
 * 5–8 cups powdered sugar


 * 4–8 tbsp softened butter (optional)
 * Cinnamon, to taste (optional)
 * Ground nutmeg, to taste (optional)

Filling

 * ⅓ cup peanut butter or hazelnut spread


 * Cream cheese (about 1:2 parts ratio to filling) (optional)
 * 1–3 teaspoons vanilla extract (optional)
 * 1–3 teaspoons maple syrup (optional)

Mashed potatoes

 * 1) Peel and cut potato(es) into slices ¾ inch thick. Add slices to a saucepan and fill it with water until the slices are covered.
 * 2) Bring the water in the saucepan to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and keep on a low boil/simmer until the potato(es) are tender and soft enough to be broken apart with a fork. Cook times may differ depending on the type and density of the potato and amount used.
 * 3) Drain the saucepan of water, and return the pan with the potatoes to a low heat, shaking the pan lightly for a minute to remove excess moisture.
 * 4) Pour the cooked potato(es) into a bowl (preferably ceramic or glass). Potatoes should take up less than ⅓ of the bowl to provide ample space for mixing later on. Mash potatoes until smooth and all clumps are removed.
 * 5) Let the mashed potatoes rest uncovered until they reach room temperature, about 10–15 minutes.

Dough

 * 1) To the bowl, incorporate about a cup of powdered sugar and mix with mashed potatoes until it liquidizes. Add in any optional ingredients to the mixture, such as softened butter or cinnamon, and begin to gradually add more powdered sugar and mix until combined. Continue to add and mix until it turns into a solid-like consistency and it clumps together. The “dough” should still be relatively sticky. The full amount of powdered sugar used will vary based off of the moisture in the potatoes and the humidity of the environment
 * 2) Once the dough is formed, roll it out onto a table dusted with powdered sugar and knead the dough, frequently covering it with powdered sugar whenever it gets sticky, until it no longer sticks to your hands. Frequently reapply powdered sugar to the work surface and to your hands to ensure that the dough doesn’t stick to either.
 * 3) You can tell that you added too much powdered sugar if the dough is too dry and cracks begin to appear. If this occurs, add the dough back to the bowl and add a tablespoon of mashed potatoes (if there are extra), a couple teaspoons of cream or milk, or a couple teaspoons of water and remix and re-knead.
 * 4) Transfer dough to a board dusted with powdered sugar. Dust a rolling pin with powdered sugar and flatten out the dough until it’s ¼ inch thick and spread out on the board, roughly in a rectangular shape. It may be preferable to roll it out on a countertop first and transfer it to a board afterwards. Alternatively, you may find it easier to roll the dough between two sheets of wax paper (both dusted with powdered sugar).
 * 5) Transfer the dough to a fridge and allow it to cool while preparing the filling.

Filling

 * 1) The filling base is traditionally peanut butter, but it can be substituted with hazelnut spread or chocolate.
 * 2) If choosing a nut spread (peanut, hazelnut, etc.), it can either be used as-is or combined with other ingredients to improve its flavor.
 * 3) If choosing to create a more advanced filling, mix the peanut butter (or other nut spread) with cream cheese in a roughly 2 parts peanut butter to 1 part cream cheese. This will provide the filling with a creamy consistency. The filling may be sweetened using maple syrup and vanilla extract.

Assembly

 * 1) After the dough is chilled, bring it out from the fridge and spread the filling on top of the dough until the spreading reaches the corners of the rolled-out dough.
 * 2) Starting with the lengthier sides, tightly roll the dough up into a pinwheel-like roll. Trim away the edges of the roll to reveal the pinwheel swirl inside.
 * 3) Slice the roll in ½ inch intervals to create smaller bite-sized candies. If prepared with enough powdered sugar, the roll should be able to survive at room temperature, though it’s best to keep it covered in a refrigerated environment for a denser and moister consistency.