The Traditional Potato Candy

• The basic recipe for Irish Potato candy is very simple. The cook creams together butter and cream cheese with confectioner's sugar and vanilla to make a sweet base with a texture similar to a stiff buttercream icing. Shredded coconut is then mixed in, giving a stiff doughy texture. The candy is finished by shaping it into oblong potato shapes or rolling it into balls, then rolling or tossing the candy in cinnamon to finalize the resemblance to a potato. Some go to the extent of using fragments of pistachio or other nuts to make "eyes" on the candy potatoes.
  
  

Theme and Variations

• For most or their century-long existence, these potato candies have been a regional specialty centered in the city of Philadelphia. In recent years, with the dawn of the Internet age, these offbeat sweets have become widely known outside of Pennsylvania for the first time. The spread of potato candy has resulted in a number of upscale variations, both inside and outside the state. Martha Stewart's website features a version with toasted walnuts in place of the coconut, and some confectioners use a candy that more closely resembles nougat.
  
  

Potato Candy as an Activity

• Irish Potato candy has always been primarily a homemade treat, the sort of simple sweet a busy homemaker could turn out quickly with minimal ingredients. It's easy enough that it also serves as a fun rainy day activity for the kids, who of course always appreciate craft ideas they can eat. There are few ingredients, no sharp edges or hot surfaces, and the mixing can all be done by hand, either with a wooden spoon or a well-washed set of small fingers.
  
  

Commercial Versions

• Despite their homemade appeal, some companies are producing potato candy commercially. In Pennsylvania, and especially the Philadelphia area, they are a common sight at neighborhood bakeries during the weeks prior to St. Patrick's Day. One local company, Oh Ryan's, produces the treats by the tens of thousands, selling them in shrink-wrapped gift boxes. California-based See's Candies has also manufactured the potato candies, adding walnuts and using pine nuts for the eyes.