Edited to add: I’ve made homemade Peeps again, and this time with a more reliable recipe that sets up immediately (no hours in the fridge necessary) and doesn’t use corn syrup. Check it out!
It’s officially Peeps season! Visit any store in the U.S. and you’ll see large displays of the cute yet creepily crusty marshmallow candies, alongside Cadbury eggs and pastel colored packages of regular year-round candy as well. After my enlightening experience making homemade marshmallow for the first time, I thought making homemade Peeps would be fun.
And it was! Aren’t they cute? In the Easter section at Target, I found cookie cutters in bunny shapes. I also made a few other shapes, but these look the most like authentic Peeps.
I bought colored sugar, which saved me some extra effort, but you can easily achieve the same look by mixing food coloring with the sugar in your pantry. If you use liquid or gel coloring, you may have to sift out a few lumps but it should work just as well.
Homemade Marshmallow Peeps
- 1/2 C cold water, divided in half
- 1/4 C light corn syrup
- Pinch of salt
- 3/4 C sugar
- 1 1/2 t unflavored gelatin
- 1/4 t vanilla
- Colored sugar (or make your own with food coloring and sugar)
- Cocoa powder and water (optional; for eyes and nose)
In a small saucepan, combine 1/4 C cold water, corn syrup, sugar and pinch of salt. Whisk together over medium heat. Once sugar is dissolved, let sit unstirred until mixture reaches softball stage (around 235-240°F).
While sugar mixture is boiling, sprinkle gelatin over remaining 1/4 C cold water in a large, deep heatproof bowl (a stand mixer bowl is perfect for this). Let stand for about 1 minute, until it softens. Beat this at medium speed.
Once sugar mixture reaches softball stage, remove from heat and carefully pour into gelatin, avoiding the beaters and sides of the bowl. Immediately begin mixing on high speed, for 5-8 minutes, until mixture increases in volume and turns white and thick. Add vanilla and beat for a minute more.
Pour into a lightly greased casserole pan. Refrigerate for 4-6 hours or overnight.
Using lightly greased cookie cutters, cut desired shapes out of marshmallow. Drop onto a plate covered with colored sugar and cover all surfaces. To make eyes and nose, sprinkle some cocoa powder on a clean plate. Dip a toothpick in water and then dip wet tip into cocoa. Dab dots onto sugar covered marshmallow.
More recipes you’ll love:
14 Comments on Homemade Marshmallow Peeps
1Pingbacks & Trackbacks on Homemade Marshmallow Peeps
-
[…] this mold, I thought of a bunch of things I could make – cake pops, candy, marshmallows. I made homemade Peeps 2 years ago when I first started blogging but I haven’t made them since. This time, I used a […]
The Dutch Baker's Daughter
March 31, 2010 at 5:03 pm (15 years ago)Marshmallow peeps! These are the cutest things I think I’ve ever seen!
Stephanie
March 31, 2010 at 5:12 pm (15 years ago)Thanks! They were fun to make and even more fun to eat!
Janet Dycus
March 4, 2018 at 2:24 pm (7 years ago)I made my marshmellow but it is not setting up can you help me
Suzy
March 31, 2010 at 6:24 pm (15 years ago)These are just the cutest things I have ever seen!
I’m really enjoying your blog!
Stephanie
March 31, 2010 at 8:59 pm (15 years ago)Thanks Suzy! I’m so glad you’re enjoying it. It’s a lot of fun for me but way more rewarding to know other people are enjoying it too. Let me know if you ever have any ingredient requests!
Amanda
March 31, 2010 at 7:03 pm (15 years ago)These are wonderful!! I have seen a few around the blogosphere.. but yours are by far the cutest!! Well done!
Stephanie
March 31, 2010 at 9:00 pm (15 years ago)Thanks Amanda! That means a lot coming from you – your creations are always beautiful!
SpicyGreenMango
March 31, 2010 at 8:12 pm (15 years ago)Oh dear…I’ve never liked peeps b/c the colors were so artificial and I don’t think they ever expire, but YOURS are so cute and homemade marshmellows? Too adorable! I will just have to try this out for myself now.
Stephanie
March 31, 2010 at 9:01 pm (15 years ago)Definitely try it out! It’s way better than store bought peeps. The marshmallow is gooey and the crunch is just plain ol’ sugar. Plus, they’re adorable! You can’t go wrong.
SpicyGreenMango
March 31, 2010 at 8:13 pm (15 years ago)Oh dear…I’ve never liked peeps b/c the colors were so artificial and I don’t think they ever expire, but YOURS are so cute and homemade marshmallows? Too adorable! I will just have to try this out for myself now.
Kathy @Polwig.com
April 2, 2010 at 5:34 am (15 years ago)Those are awesome… what a great idea… I decided to make marshmallow shamrocks… but peeps… I am sure these taste so much better then store bought..
http://polwig.com/cooking/shamrock-marshmallows/
Crystal
April 2, 2010 at 10:28 pm (15 years ago)Those look awesome!! This will be a fun project to try one day 🙂
Andrea
April 23, 2011 at 3:39 pm (14 years ago)They look great! Like the ‘real’ thing!