Cocoanut Dreams

Here’s a vintage no-bake candy recipe with a secret weapon: mashed potatoes. Sounds odd, but the potato creates a smooth, fudge-like base that holds the coconut together without any corn syrup or condensed milk. Old-school candy makers have used this trick for generations.

Mix the coconut, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt, then fold in the mashed potatoes until the mixture is stiff enough to shape. Form tiny haystacks (think the size of a walnut) and chill them until firm. Once they’re solid, dip each one in melted unsweetened chocolate for a bittersweet shell that balances all that coconut sweetness.

The mashed potatoes need to be cold and dry. Leftover baked potatoes work better than boiled ones here because they hold less water. Too much moisture and your haystacks will slump instead of holding their shape.

Pro Tips

• Use completely plain mashed potatoes with no butter, milk, or seasoning added. You want pure starch as a binder.
• Let the haystacks chill a full two hours before dipping. Soft centers will melt the chocolate coating and make a mess.
• Temper the chocolate gently in a double boiler or microwave in short bursts. Overheated chocolate seizes and turns grainy.
• Store finished candies in the fridge in a single layer until the chocolate sets completely.

Variations

• Use semisweet or milk chocolate for the coating if unsweetened is too bitter for your taste.
• Add a drop of almond extract alongside the vanilla for a more complex flavor.
• Roll the haystacks in toasted coconut before chilling for extra crunch and a nuttier flavor.