My friend Kim’s kid LOVES Peeps, and we were going over to see them on Sunday for a casual dinner. So I wanted to make Easter Peep cupcakes. Only I could not find Peeps! 3 Walmarts, several Shoppers Drug Marts (like Walgreens), Zellers (like Target) and on and on! No luck. I WILL NOT be defeated by Peeps!
And then I saw Charlie’s post. My dear blogging friend Charlie of Hotly Spiced made these INCREDIBLE Easter Marshmallow eggs. Really? Home made marshmallows? I thought it was an urban legend! So after a few questions I gave it a try! Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to pretend my little deformed chicks are anything like Charlie’s gorgeous, elegant Chocolate Covered Easter Eggs, but they are indeed a reasonable facsimile of the ever famed Easter Peeps. And they are marshmallow. And the kid said they taste like them too!
I used a Martha Stewart recipe because it claimed to make less Marshmallows; I still had tonnes left! But thanks to Charlie, I won’t ever be buying marshmallows ever again, that’s for sure!
I actually added about 20 drops yellow food colouring, but it obviously had no effect, so if you want yellow peeps, add more!
Now be careful. I was warned and now you will be too. I had EVERYTHING at hand and it still happened! Marshmallow cream EVERYWHERE! Too bad it wasn’t Valentine’s Day. I’m just sayin’!
Easter Peeps
Marshmallow recipe from Martha Stewart
Makes about 3 cups
Ingredients:
- 1 unflavored gelatin (2 1/2 teaspoons)
- 1/3 cup cold water, for gelatin, plus 1/4 cup for syrup
- 1 cup sugar
Directions:
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, sprinkle gelatin over 1/3 cup cold water. Allow gelatin to soften, about 5 minutes.
- In a small saucepan, combine 1/4 cup water and sugar, and stir over medium-high heat until sugar is dissolved. Stop stirring, and place a candy thermometer into sugar water; wipe sides of pan with a wet brush if sugar crystals have splattered up. Boil sugar until temperature reaches the soft-ball stage (238 degrees).
- Remove syrup from heat and add to softened gelatin. Using the whisk attachment of an electric mixer, hand-stir the mixture a few minutes to cool. Place bowl on the mixer stand; beat on medium high with the whisk attachment until soft peaks form and the marshmallow mixture holds shape, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Transfer marshmallow mixture to a large (14-inch) pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch (No. 11 Ateco) tip, and use immediately or wrap with plastic wrap tightly.
Click here to get instructions on how to pipe the peeps!
From Martha Stewart Living, April 2001
Today is the Centennial Anniversary of the maiden voyage (and sadly the demise) of the luxury vessel RMS Titanic. There will be only one more blog about the party today, and I am soooo excited about it. We put together a little memorial booklet and it turned out AMAZING. JT and I will be popping over to Angela’s this morning to drop things off so it’s not as hectic when everyone arrives this evening. It may take a couple of days for me to get the photos together but I’ll post pictures and commentary as soon as I can! Thank you for your support and excitement, I really had not expected it and because of it you’ve absolutely made it for me.
I found them! The peeps turned out great, Eva. Good of you to make them for your friend’s child.
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Thanks Brooks, I wasn’t kidding about having marshmallow cream everywhere! I’d forgotten how much fun I had making them.
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cute!
Amanda
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Thanks Amanda, making marshmallows was not as difficult as I thought.
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Haha these are so cute!!! Until really recently I didn’t know we can make marshmallows at home… It will be a fun project with my kids for sure. They’ve been wanting to roast marshmallows, so maybe I should try making from scratch!
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I can’t believe that there were no Peeps to be found — in April, no less. I guess it all worked out for the best, because your peeps are adorable.
Depending on how much of a Peeps fan you are, you may enjoy the results of a Peep Diarama contest at the link below: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/peeps-show-vi/2012/03/27/gIQAswMmfS_gallery.html#photo=1
I enjoy your blog, having just discovered it through Go Bake Yourself blog.
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Thank you Judy, and that link is hilarious. I am not much of a Peeps fan but I did find it entertaining. Now I shall check out your blog.
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Judy, I cannot seem to be able to leave a comment on your blog, I don’t know why. I have not had this issue before even with blogspot users.
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Eva, these are just fantastic – sweet, whimsical and enchanting – love them!
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Those are just adorable – tweezers to pick out the eyes? That’s a lot of patience! Haha, I don’t think I could have endured carefully picking out each eye like that 😀
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The peeps are adorable and had to be better than anything store bought.
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They are so adorable!
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These look so cute and I am sure the kids will love it.
Hats off to you for making your own marshmellow!
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Too bad it wasn’t Valentine’s Day!!!! LOL!!! That caught me by surprise and absolutely delighted me. Too funny Eva! And such adorable little peeps. 🙂
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Your peeps are adorable. Have fun at the Titanic bash! I am working on my tax returns, which always feels like a disaster but comes out alright in the end.
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Love the peeps! I will definitely have to make these next year!!! Have a great time at your party tonight — can’t wait to hear more about it!
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Thanks Barb, we had to drop off a few things this morning and their place looks incredible! It will be an amazing evening!
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These are adorable!!! I can just picture them floating on a little wee sea of hot cocoa too:) (Thinking Titanic;)
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Thanks Smidge, floating on hot cocoa sound wonderful, now I wish I had made more of them!
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Peeps don’t exist here, but I’m sure yours taste hundred times better. They are so cute! I am impressed you have managed to prepare marshmallows at home. Congratulations! I don’t think I will ever have the courage to try making marshmallows on my own.
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Thanks Sissi, Charlie-Louie inspired me, and I thought it would be much more difficult, but it was not. An accomplished cook/baker such as yourself, would not find marshmallow making challenging at all.
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These are so cute. You have made them beautifully. Home made peeps, I wish I could make these for my daughter. She will be so thrilled.
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Hi Asmita, for some unknown reason, the kids just love them! You should definitely try, it was much easier than I thought it would be.
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I was impressed with Charlie’s chocolate covered marshmallow eggs and now your peeps have had the same effect! These look great, Eva, and I’m sure Kim’s kids loved ’em. How could they not?
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You are very complimentary, John, thank you kindly. The kid loved them, even the slightly taller and older ones!
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Well done for making your own when you couldn’t find them! I must admit that I’ve never tried peeps before but they seem to be huge in North America!
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They are, and the store bought kind are just laiden with chemicals so I am glad I had to resort to making my own, Lorraine. They actually just taste like normal marshmallows, but they do get better if you let them dry out on the outside a bit.
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I’m very impressed with your peeps. Ever since I destroyed my favourite small enamelled pot trying to make Turkish Delight, I decided candy making is NOT in my repertoire of dishes. They ARE cute. 🙂
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Thank Maria, the marshmallow likely won’t ruin a pot as the temperature doesn’t have to get that high. The marshmallow is much tastier and far less sweet than the store bought kind.
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Oh wow! I’ve been wanting to see what you made with your marshmallows. You are too harsh on yourself. They look gorgeous and I can just imagine what it took to get them looking like that – marshmallow is not easy to work with because it is so sticky and sets so quickly. Yes, perhaps we should make this for Valentine’s Day – it could serve both purposes! xx
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Thank you Charlie, you inspired me to tackle the famous marshmallow, and suprisingly it was much easier than I thought it would be. For anyone trying to make the peeps, I would highly recomment disposible piping bags. I cannot imagine cleaning out the sticky gooey mess.
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Those peeps are sooooo cute. You are so creative, Eva, how did you make those eyes? They are so lively.
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Thank you kindly Norma, the eyes are just the colourful sprinkles. I had to use tweezers to place them!
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