Irish Potatoes

I moved to Philly from Ohio in 2007. It was complete culture shock. A lot of it was normal little town to big city sort of adjustments, but a ton of it was the difference in foods. Ohio was all I knew and I didn’t realize that regions had such drastic differences. The biggest one was probably the “Pop” to “Soda” adjustment. Or maybe the “Sub” to “Hoagie” adjustment. But I’m a Philly girl now, and I def have a hoagie with a diet soda for lunch.

But lingo aside, the transition into Philly girl meant I was gaining a whole new repertoire of recipes and traditions. Scrapple, gravy fries and… Irish Potatoes.

I’ve noticed that a lot of original Philly people aren’t even completely aware that these are a regional specialty. But they are, and they are awesome.

You can buy them at the store or Lore’s Chocolates around St. Patrick’s Day. But these little balls of sugary, coconutty heaven are best when made fresh and made with love. Made to look like tiny little potatoes, they are super sweet little candies that go fast. Really fast. I encourage you all to make them, whether you are familiar with them or not. They are easy and delicious and I hope all of my Ohio peeps and can make them a tradition back home as well.

Irish Potatoes
adapted from food.com
4 oz cream cheese (softened)
4 tbsp. butter (softened)

1 tbsp vanilla
2.5 cups sweetened coconut flakes
4 cups powdered sugar
3 parts cinnamon/ 1 part granulated sugar

Blend together cream cheese, butter and vanilla until smooth. 

Add in powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time until fully incorporated. Mixture should be fairly stiff.

Add in coconut, until fully incorporated.

Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

Mix together your 3 parts cinnamon and 1 part sugar.

Start rolling your refrigerated cream cheese mixture until small potato-shaped balls and roll them around in your cinnamon sugar mixture.

If you are layering them in your dish, I recommend putting a layer of wax paper between layers.

Refrigerate until ready to eat.

Impress everyone with your festive homemade shiz.