Dirty Irish Potatoes

Dirty Irish Potatoes - Oh Ryan's Irish Potato Copycat Twisted

Oh Ryan’s Irish Potatoes have been a tradition here in Philadelphia for over 100 years. Contrary to the name, Irish Potatoes are not Irish and contain no potatoes. They're little coconut cream candies that have been rolled in cinnamon so they look like little potatoes. They come out every year just in time for St. Patty's Day, hence the name “Irish Potatoes.”Although I’ve lived in Philadelphia all my life, I grew up in an Italian neighborhood so it wasn’t until high school that I was first introduced to Oh Ryan’s Irish potatoes.

But beyond my classmates packing Oh Ryan’s potatoes in their lunch bags, they all seemed to have a copycat versions that they thought were better than the original.  And most of those homemade versions were indeed very tasty but the candy itself is very sweet.

This year I thought I’d tone down some of that sweetness by adding salty chopped almonds and a little unsweetened dark cocoa to the coating. The result was a sweet salty crunchy little bite of heaven that fits the sweet salty candy trend quite well. These Dirty Irish Potatoes are just delicious.

Dirty Irish Potatoes

Prep time: 20 min

Ingredients for the Centers:

• 4 tbsp. butter softened (1/2 stick)
• 8 tbsp. cream cheese softened (1/2 block)
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 lb. box of confectioner’s sugar
• 2 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut (7 oz. by weight)
• ½ cup chopped smoked almonds

Ingredients for the coating

• 2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa
• 2 tbsp. cinnamon
• 4 tbsp. confectioner’s sugar

Video Tutorial:

Instructions 

1. Beat together the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla until smooth.

2. Add the coconut and chopped almonds and beat until well combined then refrigerate the mixture to make it more workable.

3. For the coating stir together the cocoa, cinnamon and confectioner’s sugar.

4. Form the coconut mixture into 1 inch balls and roll the balls in your hands to smooth the surface then toss into the coating.

5. Drop the coated balls onto a clean plate to remove any excess coating and serve. Store the leftovers in the refrigerator.