I love Peeps. Not the creepy new ones that Just Born is releasing at every conceivable holiday, though. In fact, the
black Halloween ones are just
downright wrong, as are the filled marshmallows. But the marshmallow yellow chicks and purple bunnies are simply
perfect. They're sweet and sugary, light and fluffy. They're made out of sugar, corn syrup and gelatin, in much the
same way as homemade marshmallows. I always buy them around Easter and in the grand scheme of Easter confections,
the low-cal, no-fat Peeps are not a bad option, with only 32 calories per peep.
Peeps have a sort of cult following. Some people have relatives mail them across the globe when they cannot be in the U.S. for Easter. They are the No. 1 non-chocolate confection for Easter, which means that probably more adults eat them than kids. And people are particular about their peeps. Some people like them only when they're fresh and soft -- I count myself in with this crowd -- while others like them stale. I have heard of people who leave them sitting out until they are almost crunchy, as the colored sugar coating crisps into a shell after a few weeks. Peeps can be used to make s'mores and subject to a number of sweet variations.
Peeps are simple: they
are marshmallows, and cute ones at that. One look at the success of Cute
Overload and you can see that people are suckers for anything cute. You cannot beat the combination of cute and
tasty. That's why Peeps are so great.
[Photo Sarah Gilbert]
A fraking amazing Battlestar Galactica cake
Iced Tea 101
Pierogies + cheese + onions + kraut = Parmageddon!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
3-20-2006 @ 1:30PM
linda w. said...
i love peeps!!! crunchy is best - and they are soooo much fun to blow up in the microwave !!! they get really big and full of air and then just smoosh to nothing but a bunch of colored goo- my kids still love to blow up peeps every easter at least once !
Reply
3-20-2006 @ 5:39PM
Chocoholic said...
I personally have never liked peeps. Sorry. Although my kids do love them. I look forward to Easter time to stock up on them. I do agree with you though. The Haloween ones were weird!
Reply
3-21-2006 @ 12:59AM
tr said...
i don't see why you only like certain peeps. a peep is a peep, doesn't matter what color it is, or it's shape. close your eyes and tell me you can tell the difference between a ghost peep and a bunny peep. i can see you not liking the filled ones, but have you tasted them? i thought they would suck too, until i had a chocolate filled one...it was actually pretty good.
Reply
4-09-2006 @ 11:32AM
Jackie Brady said...
When I was a kid I always would try to find the first box of peeps as early as possible for my father. He would immediatly slit open the plastic to let them "cure". I never tried them then, they were too weird. I only recently tried one for the first time and discovered that they are pretty good. I wish my Dad were here so I could get him a box.
Reply
4-09-2006 @ 11:34AM
JoA said...
My whole family goes for the stale Peep. In fact, I usually stock up and then let them "age". I just gifted my sister Halloween pumpkin Peeps from 2004. For us, fresh is too mushy.
Reply
4-09-2006 @ 11:47AM
Kathy said...
I, too, love Peeps. I prefer the original yellow and purple colors, call me a purist. One of the people I work with mentioned that her husband was as crazed about them as I am. They have them in the house year round. One Thanksgiving when she was making the sweet potatoes, she realized she was out of marshmallows. In her search, she ran across the stash of Peeps and decided to use them, why not? Her hubby freaked when the potatoes came to the table with 20 little pairs of eyes staring up at him!
Reply
4-09-2006 @ 1:46PM
Lala Shabala said...
Peeps are disgusting!
Reply
4-09-2006 @ 2:13PM
PeepCrazy said...
Peeps are a longtime favorite of my family.. Though for me they have to "cure" like a fine wine.. My wife stocks the house with them as soon as the first one's are born. As a kid I ate them soft and mushy and could not understand why my Uncle would open the package on Easter Sunday and would not eat them for a couple of weeks.. now I know the pleasures of a "cured" peep..
Reply
4-12-2006 @ 8:56PM
Lynn Fegan said...
"Cured" and FROZEN!!!!! The ONLY way to eat peeps!
Reply
4-12-2006 @ 9:28PM
Sharon Tinsley said...
I love peeps. I thought I was the only one who liked them to set around awhile before eating them. I do not like purple ones, they are bitter. I only like yellow or white ones. Sometimes it is hard to wait for them to get hard before I eat them.
Reply
4-12-2006 @ 9:52PM
Cee Cee said...
i think peeps are really good they they taste good on graham crackers if you know what i mean .
Reply
4-12-2006 @ 10:02PM
Lorraine Ledford said...
Love Peeps - I buy them and give them to people to hold for me til they're ready - otherwise i would eat them raw. Totally wrong - raw Peeps LOL
Reply
4-12-2006 @ 10:40PM
patricia said...
hi, i just want to say , that i do not find why people are choosey about the color peeps they all taste the same. they all are very good. i haaave loved them since i was a child and now my chhildren loves the as the same . but I have to say i do pick different color ones so my children do not fight who's are who's. like for example ; Blue or yellow for my boys and pink and purple for my girls. just to solve theirs and my problems but we got to love our children they are the best gift god could ever give anyone . god bless to you all,and peace to be with you all too. Thank you for your time
Reply
4-12-2006 @ 11:59PM
valerie said...
Peeps are so traditional of Easter, especialy the yellow ones,I always look forward to seeing them in the stores for the holiday! Its cutes seeing all the new creative ones, but lets face if whatever the color a Peep is a Peep!!!! Very good and yes better stale..all this talk made me hungry for a , well you guessed it a PEEP!!!
Reply
4-13-2006 @ 12:00AM
valerie said...
Peeps are Great..SOme colors are bittter , but the staleer they are and the yellower they are the betterer they are toooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!
Reply
4-13-2006 @ 12:03AM
valerie said...
Peeps are Great..s[ecialy the yellow ones and then they must be stale................MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMmmmmgood!!!
Reply
4-13-2006 @ 1:21AM
Cat said...
OH..MY...GOSH!!! I ADORE PEEPS! I like all of them! Halloween ones are just as good as the cute little Bunnys and Chicks,, Cured for at least 3 weeks is best. But it is soooo hard to wait that long.. but I am one who will stash Angelfood cake to get hard and chewy also!!! I need some resistence to the tooth. VIVA PEEPS AL DENTE!!!
Reply
4-13-2006 @ 2:31AM
Kylee said...
Oh how I love a soft, fresh little peep!!This site makes me want to go to the store and buy some and it's 2:30 in the morning!!!!
Reply
4-13-2006 @ 2:38AM
Becki said...
I have to agree I love peeps! Always have them fresh right out of the package and never even thought to let them go stale! Apparently this is something i need to try! Happy peeping!
Reply
4-13-2006 @ 3:49AM
NoPeep said...
I am shocked at the emotion people display about peeps. I always thought they were like holiday fruitcake, in that every store sold them but no one actually ATE them. Weird!
Reply