Peanut Butter Pinwheels

Mashed potatoes in candy? It sounds wrong, but this old-fashioned recipe has been making the rounds since the Depression era for a reason. The potato acts as a neutral, starchy base that absorbs four cups of powdered sugar into a smooth, pliable fondant that’s sweeter and creamier than you’d expect from something that started in a pot of boiled potatoes.

The texture of the mixture changes dramatically as you beat in the sugar. After the first couple cups, it turns almost liquid and seems like a lost cause. Keep going. The fourth cup transforms it back into a firm, rollable dough. That transformation is the starch in the potato absorbing the sugar’s moisture and restructuring. If you stop too early, you’ll have fondant soup.

Peanut butter spread across the rolled-out fondant creates the spiral pattern when you roll it up jelly-roll style. Each sliced pinwheel shows a clean swirl of white fondant and brown peanut butter that looks like it came from a candy shop.

Refrigerate the logs until completely firm before slicing. Warm fondant squishes flat under a knife.

Kitchen Tips

• Use cold leftover mashed potatoes with no butter or milk added. Plain potatoes make the best fondant because there’s no competing fat or flavor.
• Dust the rolling surface with powdered sugar, not flour. Flour will change the texture and flavor.
• Roll from the short side for a tighter, more uniform spiral with more visible swirls per slice.
• Slice ¼ inch thick for the best ratio of fondant to peanut butter.

Variations

• Add a few drops of food coloring to the fondant for holiday-colored pinwheels.
• Swap peanut butter for Nutella for a chocolate-hazelnut spiral.
• Roll the finished log in cocoa powder before chilling for a chocolate-dusted exterior.