"Peeps" news and stories

Either you adore Peeps or you find the puffy marshmallow forms disgusting. Before you shun these pastel-colored treats, look at what two Wisconsin museums have done to elevate their, er, art form.

In Racine, Wisconsin, Racine Art Museum is hosting the Second Annual International Peeps Competition. Entries will be exhibited at the museum during the month of April, with a submission deadline of March 27. Check out the link above for a super-cute video starring Peeps. Below that is a photo of the highly hysterical Peep-a-Roni pizza created by a past entrant.

It's Easter time and for lots of people that means roasted leg of lamb, fresh asparagus and Easter eggs. It also means Peeps season! You know, those pastel colored, sugar encrusted marshmallow bunnies and chicks that make even the most dedicated Debbie Downer grin. Apparently there are a lot of Peeps devotees. According to the company's website, marshmallowpeeps.com, "the amount of Peeps chicks and bunnies consumed at Easter could more than circle the earth's circumference." (We're guessing that's a whole lot o' Peeps).

And visiting the Washington Post Peeps Competition website it seems that Peeps aficionados also have way too much time on their hands. The Fourth annual "Peeps Show" competition drew more than 11 hundred submissions. Contestants were asked to create a diorama of "a famous occurrence or scene." The one ironclad rule: The characters depicted in the diorama must be represented by, you guessed it, Peeps.

For years we've welcomed spring by biting through the sugary skin of chicks and bunnies to get to the soft and sweet marshmallow Peep inside. But this Easter, things are looking especially bright: Peeps manufacturer Just Born has let loose a new horde of sugary holiday snacks, housing their classic marshmallow flavor in both milk and dark chocolate. No, we're not talking about a little Peep nestled in an outer chocolate shell.

These guys aren't exactly like their classic brethren. Dunked into melted chocolate, these chicks -- no bunnies allowed in this club -- come in individually wrapped packages. Second, these new Peeps are lacking the crackling outer coating of sugar. Instead, to give the candy that classic Easter color, Just Born has colored the tasty 'mallow inside a nice pastel yellow.

Can chocolate bring new life to the beloved Easter treat, and match the piles of bunnies and chicks that find their way into eager Easter baskets, culinary adventures, and movie dioramas? Can you bear to bite into a Peep without its colorful skin and white center? We'll leave that answer up to you:

Chocolate-covered Peeps: yay or nay?

Related: Chocolate Covered Peeps Drop In Time For Easter

Peep. Photo: Seaships, Flickr

The nation's first Peeps store, Peeps & Co, is coming to Maryland this fall.

These pudgy marshmallow chicks and bunnies have certainly racked up quite a following over the 50 years of their existence, so we can't say we're terribly surprised to hear they're getting their own shop in National Harbor in Prince George's County.

According to the Washington Post, the store -- owned by the preciously named company Just Born -- will be packed with Peeperphernalia including Peeps dressed as Village People, Peep pens, key chains and even fancy china.

And what of the "& Co" in the shop's name? Ah, yes. For those who are not happily drowning in a sea of Peeps, available wares will also include Hot Tamales and Mike and Ike's, two other brands owned by Just Born. Of course the puffy critters will be the star of this show.

Peruse our homemade faux-Peep recipe.



[Via Washington Post]

Not all candy-making is a science involving a delicate dance of temperature and time. One Easter candy, in fact, can be quite fun -- fun to make, fun to eat, and fun to play with. You know what I'm talking about -- the cute, adorable, and delicious Peeps.

While many candies have devoted fans, nothing seems to inspire the fun and frivolity of the Peep. These little marshmallow suckers inspire an insane following. The blog Unlikely Words found just about every Peeps-themed site of note on the Internet -- pickled Peeps, Presidential Peeps and even anti-Peeps. Even better is the annual contest held by The Washington Post in which people diorama the heck out of their Peeps. We're talking everything from excellent movie recreations like The Wizard of Oz and Ghostbusters to an awesome plumber Peep.

They're almost too good to recreate yourself ... almost! You can still go out and buy your beloved chicks and bunnies, but why not whip up some pals for them as well?