Irish Sweet Potato Candy

I wanted something different and fun for the girls to give out on St. Patty's day. I had heard of Irish potato candy before and thought that could be fun and festive.

After doing a little reseach, I learned that Irish Potato Candy is actually a traditional Philadelphia confectionery, is not Irish, and does not actually contain potatoes. Rats!

Oh well, we made up our own version using Sweet Potatoes (I couldn't resist one more recipe for the Sassy Sweets Cookoff) and the results were SO GOOD. You can't taste the potato, it tastes like a sweet almond treat, almost like smooth & creamy marzipan.

Irish Sweet Potato Candy
Makes 48
Ingredients:
1 large light-colored w sweet potato (about 13 oz.)
4 T. butter, softened (half of a stick)
1 (14 oz.) can sweetend condensed milk
5 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup sliced almonds
1 tsp. almond extract
10 C. powdered sugar
12 oz. white chocolate
12 oz. milk or dark chocolate
12 oz. green candy melts (if you want to make them for St. Patrick's Day)
Wax paper

Directions:
Cook sweet potato (oven, microwave, whatever works for you) and let cool. Peel and place into a large mixing bowl with condensed milk, cream cheese, butter and almond extract. Mix well. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time, until mixture is thick enough to roll into balls that will hold their shape. Add sliced almonds and mix until combined. (Note: depending on your climate, you may not need this much powdered sugar or may need a little more). Roll into 3/4 inch balls and set on wax paper or baking sheets. Melt chocolate on a double boiler or in the mircowave at 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval. Dip potato candy in one color chocolate and garnish with the other color (I like to put some in a quart ziploc freezer bag, snip an end off and "draw" with it). Let set completely, about 5 minutes. You can store these in the refrigerator for up to a week. Enjoy!