The next time your oven is on, throw in a potato. Why? They may seem like strange bedfellows, but potatoes and potato flakes are often used in sweet recipes for their starch and to retain moisture. Today’s recipe is the confection peppermint creams, much like a York Peppermint Patty. And yes, they contain a bit of baked potato as a binder! And no, they do not remotely taste like potatoes.
Peppermint creams are a classic roll and slice, easy-to-make candy. The original recipe comes from Ali Stone, a.k.a. rovinghaggis. My version is ever so slightly different, but the credit goes to her.
Instead of green food coloring, you could try pinks and reds for Valentine’s Day; a variety of pastels for Easter or Passover; a lovely blue for Hanukkah; bright reds and greens for Christmas; or leave them white for a classic peppermint patty. These are fun, easy, and unexpected — give them a try!
The fun doesn’t stop here. Why limit yourself to peppermint extract when there is a world of extract flavors out there?! Think about almond, maple, rum, or any citrus extract. The cream candy world is yours!
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Ingredients
* 50g (about 1/3 cup) warm baked potato flesh, no peels
* 400g (about 3 + 1/2 cups) powdered sugar (also known as confectionery or icing sugar)
* 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract (do not go over this amount as it is strong)
* 3 – 5 drops green food color gel (start small, and add drops until you reach your desired color)
* 1 – 2 teaspoons cold water (only if needed)
* 100g Dark chocolate
Directions
- Prick with a knife or fork then bake a potato at 400F (200C) for approximately 45 – 60 minutes, or until a knife can very easily pierce all the way through it. Let it cool enough to be able to handle it, then remove the peel. If you have a potato ricer, rice the potato into a bowl. If you do not have a ricer, that’s fine, just mash it thoroughly with a fork ensuring that no lumps are present and that the potato mash has a smooth finish. DO NOT use a food processor, which makes the starch in the potato gummy. Weigh 50 grams (or 1/3 cup) of the potato and place it in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (or in a bowl to beat with a handheld electric beater). If you have leftover baked potato mash eat it later as a snack!
- Add 400 grams (3 + 1/2 cups) of powdered sugar, 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract, and a few drops of green food color. Mix until it all comes together as a ball. This will take a while — be patient if at first it looks dry. After being patient and mixing for a good long while, add 1 teaspoon of water if it’s just not coming together. Repeat if needed. Ultimately, this ought to have the consistency of pastry dough. If you accidentally add too much water and it’s too wet, just add more powdered sugar. Check for your desired color and add more food color as needed
- Transfer the “dough” to a silicone mat or parchment baking paper and press and roll together to form a log of about 1.5 inches (3.5 cm) diameter. If it is too sticky, add some powdered sugar to the mat or paper. Keep the log rolled in a silpat mat or parchment paper and transfer it to the refrigerator for 60 minutes. Remove the log from the refrigerator and cut it into equal discs. Using a cookie cutter or any small circular form, swirl the discs around to even out your discs to make neat circles (this is optional). Place the circles back in the refrigerator while you melt the chocolate (the next step)
- Using a serrated knife, cut the chocolate into small pieces. Reserving a small handful, place most of the chocolate into a microwavable bowl and microwave in 20-second increments until it is “almost” melted. The residual heat from the bowl will melt the rest of it once stirred. (NOTE: you may also use a Bain Marie/double broiler to melt the chocolate if you prefer). Off the heat, add the small amount of un-melted chocolate that you had set aside to the bowl with the melted chocolate and stir until it is fully incorporated, melted, and glossy. NOTE: Adding the un-melted chocolate “seeds” and “tempers” the chocolate. What this means: Chocolate is finicky and can “bloom” (turn grayish) if not tempered correctly. There are two ways to temper chocolate. This recipe uses a very easy method, called “seeding” by adding some un-melted chocolate to the melted chocolate to give it back its chemical structure. The un-melted chocolate acts as “seeds” helping it grow back its original structure and color. The other tempering method is complex and deals with raising and lowering the temperature of the chocolate to very precise degrees. I don’t want to do that, and I trust you don’t either. Just add some un-melted chocolate to the melted chocolate and you’ll be fine.
- Gently, because they are a bit fragile, take each peppermint cream disk and dip half into the chocolate then place it back onto the silpat mat or parchment paper and place it into the refrigerator until set (about 30 minutes). These may be brought out to room temperature to serve or eaten chilled
Greg Nelson Cooks 