How to Make Peeps for Easter
Peeps are a super-sugary Easter treat available in most supermarkets and convenience stores during the Easter season, but rather than simply buying a pack and chowing down, why not have a go at making some of your own? The recipe requires only a few ingredients, and it also lacks many of the health-harming chemicals used in premade Peeps.
Ingredients
- 1 packet of unflavored gelatin (about 2 1/2 tsp.)
- 1/3 cup cold water for gelatin
- 1/4 cup of cold water for syrup
- 1 cup of sugar
- Food coloring
- Piping bag
Take the bowl of an electric mixer and put your cold water inside. Sprinkle your gelatin on top and let the gelatin soften for about 5 minutes. Using a small saucepan, mix your 1/4 cup of cold water and your sugar, stirring on high heat until the sugar dissolves. Use a candy thermometer to test the temperature of the sugar mixture. You want it to boil until it reaches 238 F and no higher, or else the sugar will crystalize. When it reaches 238 F, take it off the heat immediately and toss it into the softened gelatin.
Stir the mixture as it cools and then place it back on your electric mixer. Beat at a medium speed until peaks form, which should take about 10 minutes. Put this mixture in a pastry bag with a 1/2” tip. Mix your food coloring and sugar in a Ziploc bag, and toss this over a baking sheet covered in parchment. Pipe the contents of the pastry bag into 1” wide ovals, pulling up at the end to form the peep tail. Don’t worry: they won’t look like Peeps quite yet. Pipe a small mound at the end opposite the tail. Pull away from the heat, making the beak. Sprinkle over the top with your sugar and dye mixture. Use a chopstick to poke two little eyes in each Peeps face, and then use your fingers to perfect the Peep shape.
