I usually add a little grated onion and some garlic to mine. Gotta jazz 'em up a bit.

Nancy

I make latkes instead of potato pancakes and make them with grated raw potatoes, grated onions, Matzoh meal, and S&P, and then fry them in olive oil. Mashed potatoes are going to be a bit wet, and adding two eggs will make them even wetter. Since you added flour, you should have added baking powder to keep them from being flat. You need more flour to make them stay together, and that also requires baking powder. If you want them to retain more potato flavor, try adding some potato flour to the mix - perhaps half potato flour and half wheat flour. Personally, I think there are better uses for leftover mashed potatoes, and I like my potato pancakes made as latkes.

Lars

We always called what you made "potatoes with scabs"....LOL!
I don't add egg, nor flour but just make patties if leftover mashed potatoes and fry them in butter. if they were well seasoned to begin with they will be delicious!
No egg....no flour, just fried mashed potatoes.
Linda C

I think that you might have left too much "water" in the mixture. When I make my latkes, I drain or squeeze the potatoes and then add in an egg, onion and flour. Sounds like there was too much moisture. Tip is to fry them in grapeseed or peanut oil. I like grapeseed best, but it's got a higher temperature tolerance and doesn't burn.

By flat, I meant in flavor. LOL And Linda...you are so right, that is what they looked like. I am making Latkes from now on...using the grapeseed oil and I will be jazzing them up with grated onion and/or garlic.

Thanks! :)

Hi Vicki...waves.. nice to see ya.

My mother used to make nice ones too and I finally realized that now days we put more butter and milk in our potatoes than they used to. It makes them alot looser and they tend to fall apart easier than theirs did. If I'm going to do those kind I add a bit of extra salt and just use the egg yolks and a bit of flour. Sometimes a little onion and garlic powder is good. I'd rather latkes too and I like to use my leftover mashed potatoes for gnocchi. A much better use for them IMNSHO

I'm sorry, I totally misread your question. I assumed that you were making latkes and not using mashed potatoes. I still think liquid is most likely the cause of the problem, but I'm certainly no mashed potato expert. Sorry!

No reason to apologize Compumom. :) I think the liquid part is correct. And I have grapeseed oil, but it never crossed my mind to use it.

For what it's worth, from my favorite cookbook, the "Alice's Restaurant Cookbook" by Alice May Brock.

Potato Pancakes (Two Ways)

One Way - Jewish Style

Wash and peel 4 or more potatoes. Grate them and drain off the potato juice. (I'm sure you can find something to do with it but I don't know what). Mix the grated potatoes with 1 grated onion (make that a small onion, says Lpink), 3-6 TBLSP of flour or pancake mix, a tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper and 2 beaten eggs. Fry tablespoonsfuls of this mixture in chicken fat or butter until the pancakes are well browned on both sides. Very good with applesauce. Makes 8-12 pancakes.

Other Way - Gentile Style

Mix a cup or two of leftover mashed potatoes with a beaten egg and some grated onion or a few tablespoons of sugar. Add 2-6 TBLSP of flour or pancake mix to thicken. Fry tablespoonfuls of this mixture in hot butter until they are well browned on both sides. Very good with maple syrup. Makes 8-12 pancakes.

However, my mom made fried mashed potatoes and didn't add eggs or anything else. But I wouldn't call that a pancake. Also, I fry my latkes in olive oil. I would add a 1/2 tsp. of baking powder to the gentile style pancake recipe and see how it goes. I never have leftover mashed potatoes, (being single I never make them) and if I want latkes I use a mix, lol!

Yes, just leftover mashed potatoes and a bit of onion. That makes them "potatocakes" in our house. :) I haven't made them in years, but that's because I never have leftover mashed potatoes; I could eat an entire plate of them and nothing else. I guess mom would never let me do it is why we had leftover potatoes when I was a kid.

I usually make potato pancakes with grated potatoes but I like "potatocakes" made with mashed potatoes too. I add fresh chives. And if you like a crispy coating, dip them in bread crumbs first.

Ann

OK, I guess it's time to invoke Renee's 7 year rule.

I've never made potato cakes with mashed potatoes. Grandma used to make them and I didn't like them, but I don't remember much seasoning either, so that was probably the problem.

I'll have to give them another try, the Irish piece of me just can't admit that there's a potato I wouldn't like. I really can't wrap my head around maple syrup with white potatoes, though.

Annie

Annie, they are even better if you make the mashed potatoes fresh just for potato cakes and if you season the mashed potatoes with roasted garlic. Fresh thyme is also good.

Ann

Ann T, I'm sure Grandma never considered adding roasted garlic to anything, let alone mashed potatoes. Heck, I've never even added roasted garlic to mashed potatoes, although I love mashed potatoes. I've always liked them so well that I didn't think they needed anything else added!

I'm definitely going to have to experiment with this one...

Annie

Annie, I'm sure your grandmother never added roasted garlic to her potatoes or anything else. I'm sure my grandmother didn't either. LOL! Doesn't mean we can't though. Can you even imagine now, not cooking with garlic?

Ann

I can't imagine them with maple syrup either, but I eat my latkes with either applesauce or sprinkled with sugar. I've never had the "gentile style" ones, just leftover fried mashed potatoes, which in my mom's case, were made with boxed mashed potatoes. We never had real ones growing up, ever! She did occasionally mix in grated cheese or maybe melt cheese on the top.

You're right, Ann T, I use a lot of things Grandma never did, but I like plain mashed potatoes with just milk and butter so well that I never considered adding anything to them.

Now, if I were going to use them to make potato cakes, I'd have to rethink that.

L, your Mom made potato cakes with instant mashed potatoes? No wonder there were leftovers to make potato cakes out of, LOL.

Annie

I make potato cakes with leftover mashed potatoes all the time. Sometimes I will coat with flour, sometimes not. Sometimes I will add some extra stuff in and sometimes not depending on how I cooked them in the first place. I have coated them with Panko Crumbs in the past.

I love horseradish mashed potatoes and roasted garlic mashed potatoes. When leftover there really is no need to add anything else. I form them into patties and cook in hot olive oil or Canola Oil.