Needhams (Potato Candy)
By Cecelia JenkinsPublished on December 15, 2017
Time
40 minutes, plus 2 hours 25 minutes chilling
Yield
Makes 36 pieces
Ingredients
Before You Begin
We prefer Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Premium Baking Bars here. For the coating to set properly, you must chop the chocolate fine and then melt it gently and slowly in the microwave, stirring often so it heats evenly. In step 5, the chocolate will still be lumpy; do not be tempted to microwave it until completely smooth. The residual heat from the bowl, along with continued stirring and mashing with a rubber spatula, should melt the remaining chocolate plus any leftover lumps. The chocolate is divided here, so if you don't have a scale, note that each Ghirardelli bar weighs 4 ounces. Do not use chocolate chips in this recipe.
Instructions
- Make foil sling for 8-inch square baking pan by folding 1 long sheet of aluminum foil so it is 8 inches wide. Lay foil sheet in pan with extra foil hanging over edges of pan. Push foil into corners and up sides of pan, smoothing foil flush to pan. Spray foil with vegetable oil spray.
- Microwave butter, milk, and salt in medium bowl until butter is melted and mixture is bubbling, about 2 minutes. Stir in potato flakes and vanilla until mixture resembles applesauce, about 30 seconds (mixture will look oily). Stir in sugar and coconut until no dry spots remain and mixture forms loose paste.
- Transfer coconut mixture to prepared pan and, using rubber spatula, press firmly into thin, even layer reaching into corners of pan. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.
- Flip coconut mixture onto cutting board; discard foil. Cut into 36 (1-inch) squares (5 horizontal cuts by 5 vertical cuts). Separate squares into 2 batches and keep half refrigerated while working with other half. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Microwave 12 ounces (340 grams) chocolate in medium bowl at 50 percent power, stirring with rubber spatula every 15 seconds, until about two-thirds melted, about 1½ minutes (chocolate should still be lumpy). Remove bowl from microwave and add remaining 4 ounces (113 grams) chocolate. Stir and mash until chocolate is just melted and smooth, about 3 minutes. (If lumps remain, you may return chocolate to microwave at 50 percent power for no more than 5 seconds at a time, stirring at each interval, until fully melted.)
- Drop several coconut squares into chocolate. Using 2 forks, gently flip squares to coat on all sides. One at a time, use fork to lift squares from chocolate. Tap fork against edge of bowl and then wipe underside of fork on edge of bowl to remove excess chocolate from bottom of candy. Use second fork to slide candy onto prepared sheet.
- Repeat with remaining coconut squares and remaining chocolate, cleaning forks as needed. (As chocolate begins to set, microwave it at 50 percent power for no more than 5 seconds at a time, stirring at each interval, until fluid. Expect to microwave chocolate at least twice during coating process.)
- Refrigerate candy until chocolate is set, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve. (Candy can be refrigerated in airtight container for up to 1 week.)
Time
40 minutes, plus 2 hours 25 minutes chillingYield
Makes 36 piecesIngredients
Ingredients
Ingredients
Why This Recipe Works
Also known as potato fudge or potato candy, Needhams are an heirloom candy from Maine with an unexpected twist: Their creamy, coconut-studded base is built on mashed spuds. To avoid boiling and mashing one potato, measuring it, and then discarding the excess, we instead used dried potato flakes: just ¼ cup mixed with hot milk and melted butter made the perfect amount of unseasoned mashed potatoes for the candy base. We stirred in 1½ cups of confectioners' sugar, 1½ cups of sweetened shredded coconut, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla and then let the mixture firm up in the refrigerator before cutting bite-size pieces. To create the candies' snappy-textured chocolate coating, it was essential to slowly melt the chocolate so it would recrystallize around the candies. We melted 12 ounces of finely chopped bittersweet chocolate in the microwave at 50 percent power and then added another 4 ounces of finely chopped chocolate and stirred until smooth to get the chocolate to set up once the candies were coated. A final stint in the refrigerator set the coating so it didn't melt in your hand but rather stayed snappy.
Before You Begin
We prefer Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Premium Baking Bars here. For the coating to set properly, you must chop the chocolate fine and then melt it gently and slowly in the microwave, stirring often so it heats evenly. In step 5, the chocolate will still be lumpy; do not be tempted to microwave it until completely smooth. The residual heat from the bowl, along with continued stirring and mashing with a rubber spatula, should melt the remaining chocolate plus any leftover lumps. The chocolate is divided here, so if you don't have a scale, note that each Ghirardelli bar weighs 4 ounces. Do not use chocolate chips in this recipe.
Instructions
- Make foil sling for 8-inch square baking pan by folding 1 long sheet of aluminum foil so it is 8 inches wide. Lay foil sheet in pan with extra foil hanging over edges of pan. Push foil into corners and up sides of pan, smoothing foil flush to pan. Spray foil with vegetable oil spray.
- Microwave butter, milk, and salt in medium bowl until butter is melted and mixture is bubbling, about 2 minutes. Stir in potato flakes and vanilla until mixture resembles applesauce, about 30 seconds (mixture will look oily). Stir in sugar and coconut until no dry spots remain and mixture forms loose paste.
- Transfer coconut mixture to prepared pan and, using rubber spatula, press firmly into thin, even layer reaching into corners of pan. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.
- Flip coconut mixture onto cutting board; discard foil. Cut into 36 (1-inch) squares (5 horizontal cuts by 5 vertical cuts). Separate squares into 2 batches and keep half refrigerated while working with other half. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Microwave 12 ounces (340 grams) chocolate in medium bowl at 50 percent power, stirring with rubber spatula every 15 seconds, until about two-thirds melted, about 1½ minutes (chocolate should still be lumpy). Remove bowl from microwave and add remaining 4 ounces (113 grams) chocolate. Stir and mash until chocolate is just melted and smooth, about 3 minutes. (If lumps remain, you may return chocolate to microwave at 50 percent power for no more than 5 seconds at a time, stirring at each interval, until fully melted.)
- Drop several coconut squares into chocolate. Using 2 forks, gently flip squares to coat on all sides. One at a time, use fork to lift squares from chocolate. Tap fork against edge of bowl and then wipe underside of fork on edge of bowl to remove excess chocolate from bottom of candy. Use second fork to slide candy onto prepared sheet.
- Repeat with remaining coconut squares and remaining chocolate, cleaning forks as needed. (As chocolate begins to set, microwave it at 50 percent power for no more than 5 seconds at a time, stirring at each interval, until fluid. Expect to microwave chocolate at least twice during coating process.)
- Refrigerate candy until chocolate is set, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve. (Candy can be refrigerated in airtight container for up to 1 week.)
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