Greetings from western NY! Welcome to the forum.
I work with Joanne, who grew up in Maine. At Christmastime she brought us in some candy that she had made, and asked us if we could guess what was in it. We would NEVER have guessed that there were mashed potatos in the recipe!
Since you're from Maine, I must ask... is this a common recipe up there?
(They were delicious, and did not last long!)