Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Faux Peeps


Peeps. The name alone makes me shiver. I know they're cute, I know kids like them, but come on people. Peeps are fricking disgusting. They always feel stale and the colored sugar tastes like it's full of nasty chemical compounds that could help you grow a third arm. And while yes, I could use a third arm, I'm not into eating food stuffs that make me gag. I do, however, love marshmallows. I love them in cocoa, I love them in s'mores, I love them melted and poured over ice cream. While peeps are technically marshmallows, they don't taste like the real deal.

Making your own marshmallows is actually incredibly easy and quick. I make peppermint marshmallows for Christmas, so I decided to make vanilla marshmallows to replace those nasty Peeps this Easter. While the chicks are all 3D and difficult looking, I figured finding a bunny cutter to make Peeps Pink Easter Bunnies would be easy. Wrong. No Peeps bunny shapes to be found anywhere! I even searched high and low for Peeps Playdough molds to no avail. I had to make my own. Nobody had better ever say I'm not crafty!

A few notes before you begin: This is only a very easy project if you own a stand mixer. Owning a hand mixer is fine but it means that you will need to stand over a bowl, whipping constantly for at least 15 minutes. I don't really have that kind of patience, so without my trusty Kitchen Aid, there is no way I'd make these :) Also, you may want to prepare a second, smaller glass pan in addition to the 9x13. I ended up with a ton of extra marshmallow this time! You don't want to waste any of this good stuff.

Faux Peeps (Feeps?)

Ingredients:
Cooking Spray
2 cups granulated sugar
1 Tbls. corn syrup
4 envelopes gelatin
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
1 1/2 c. water, divided

Preparation:
Spray a 9x13 inch glass pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper. Set aside.

Sprinkle gelatin over 3/4 c. water in a bowl. Allow to sit and soften for 5 minutes.

In a small saucepan, bring sugar, corn syrup, and 3/4 cup water to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Turn heat to medium high and cook until it reaches 260 degrees on a candy thermometer.

Place bowl of gelatin over a small pan of simmering water and whisk until all gelatin is melted and combined. Set aside.

Beat egg whites in stand mixer of high until stiff peaks form.

Whisk gelatin into sugar mixture. While mixer is still turned on, slowly pour sugar and gelatin mixture into the egg whites. Beat on high speed for 10-15 minutes. The mixture will get very thick and fluffy. It should look like a jar of, well, fluff.



Pour your fluff immediately into prepared pans, smoothing with a spatula. Allow to sit at room temperature for at least 3 hours. It can sit as long as over night.


Now for the fun part. Fill a shallow bowl with colored sugar. Spray your cutter (or knife) lightly with cooking spray. Cut into marshmallow slowly, as it might stick a bit. Lift carefully with your fingers and push out from the cutter into the bowl of sugar. Flip to coat on all sides and move to a piece of waxed paper.



Pipe on the teeny face. I used black gel coloring for the eyes and nose, but you could also use melted chocolate. My cutter shape came out a little wonky, and I made it much bigger than a standard Peep Bunny. I think the little pink guy felt threatened by his giant cousins. Rightfully so. 




Marshmallow on FoodistaMarshmallow

10 comments:

Michele said...

I LOVE THIS! I totally agree that peeps are icky! So tell me, how did you make your own cutter?????

cookies and cups said...

YAY! How great!
I will shamefully admit I do like Peeps (chemicals and all) in small amounts at Easter, but I'm sort of hoping for a third arm..think of all I could get done ;)
The homemade ones are WAY better, though! Love that you linked up! Thanks!

Pam said...

This is great and I would love to try it! They look delicious!

Kim said...

I could use a third arm too;D

Making your own peeps is awesome! You did a fantastic job.

pup said...

Hiya, I just made Peeps too!! Your recipe is a little different than the one i had. They look great!!!

Alisa said...

Peeps are cute to look at but I dont really like em. But your marshmallows sure look good! maybe i could still make it for Easter :)If you won't mind I'd love to guide foodista readers to your site.Just add your choice of Foodista widget at the end of this blog post and it's good to go.Thanks!

Sarah said...

I'd love to make these, but how do you make your own cutter?

Kat @ Black Kats Design said...

Peeps hater! I look forward to the Easter season just so I can have peeps. They make them for other holidays now but they don't taste the same. Ok, seriously your Feeps look delicious. I'll have to give them a try. I could then have Feeps whenever I wanted them (maybe not such a good thing). Thanks for the post!

Joanna said...

Thanks for all of the compliments! I will definitely try to post a cookie cutter tutorial soon. I just need to get motivated to make more so I can take step-by-step photos! It is actually very easy.

Anonymous said...

Por que no:)