Irish potato candies aren’t from Ireland.
Irish potato candies originated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania among Irish immigrants, and they have turned into a St. Patrick’s Day tradition there. Even though I consider myself a true Wisconsin girl, I was my family is actually from in Philadelphia and we’ve been making these candies for as long as I can remember.
The candies are pretty simple to make. You’ll be completely finished in under an hour, which (in my opinion) isn’t too long for such an amazing confection. Just mix up the cream cheese and coconut filling and roll it in some cinnamon. Rolling them into potato shapes is totally optional, but really does add to the cuteness. Serve them in a brown paper bag – a.k.a. a potato sack.
You might also like: baked corned beef / homemade Irish sausage / Irish beef stew
More St. Patrick’s Day desserts: Lucky Charms cookies / Guinness cake / pistachio cake
Ingredient notes:
- Cream cheese – Since we are making this recipe dairy free, I used vegan cream cheese. If you are working with dairy, just a regular block of cream cheese works. I don’t recommend the reduced fat. For dairy free, I tested the recipe with both Violife and Wayfare brands.
- Butter – To replace dairy butter, I used 1/2 stick of Earth Balance vegan buttery sticks for this recipe.
- Powdered sugar – You want store bought powdered sugar that has added cornstarch to it.
- Coconut – You will want sweetened, shredded coconut for this recipe. I don’t recommend replacing it with unsweetened as it contributes to the flavor and sweetness of the candy.
- Cinnamon – This is for coating the outside of the candy.
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions listed below are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
Melissa’s tips + tricks:
- Keep it clean: I like to roll all of my filling out before starting with the cinnamon to keep the cinnamon off my hands and prevent it from getting into the center of the candies.
- Make it a potato: I roll them back and forth in the palms of my hands to make a more oval, potato-like shape with a dip in the center, rather than a round ball.
More St. Patrick’s Day recipes: corned beef and cabbage tacos / Guinness braised beef / vegan Irish soda bread / Irish shepherd’s pie
Irish Potato Candy
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter, softened*
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened (1/2 package)*
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 3 cups sweetened coconut flakes
- 1 – 1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon, for rolling
Instructions
- Make the filling. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the butter, cream cheese and vanilla extract together until smooth. Then, slowly add the powdered sugar about 1/2 cup at a time, until it's fully incorporated, scraping sides as needed. Next, mix in the shredded coconut until it's evenly distributed.
- Shape the candy. Roll the filling into tablespoon-sized balls (or shape like small potatoes) and dip each of them in a bowl of cinnamon to coat. Transfer them to a wax or parchment-lined baking sheet and chill in the refrigerator until set.
- Store and serve. Once they're cooled, transfer to an airtight container and store candies in refrigerator until ready to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
I followed the recipe and the filling had no taste no one in the family and friends liked them the only thing they could taste was the cinnamon I ground up the coconut would that change the taste of the candy they were also dry they look just like they should but the taste was not good
thank you
What do you mean you ground up the coconut? If you ground up fresh coconut, that would definitely affect the flavor because the recipe calls for sweetened coconut. If you mean you just ground up your sweetened flaked coconut, I’m not really sure why the flavor didn’t turn out. I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy them. 🙁
These were really yummy! I might reduce the amount of powdered sugar next time but the consistency was so yummy. I reduced the coconut a bit & it was perfect for our tastes. Thanks for sharing!
These were fantastic! What fun to make and I can’t wait to give them to co-workers tomorrow. Thanks for this will have to make these a tradition. I did make a change and made my cinnamon coat with brown sugar and white sugar with tons of cinnamon. Next time I’ll use dark brown sugar to get a darker color.
These were delicious and easy to make! People really liked them!
ah, memories of Philadelphia… am making these today!
thank you ♥ for the recipe 🙂