Peep Show!

Well, that's a real show stopping title if I do say so myself. And it's true, I'm doing a blog post on a peep show, but not in the traditional sense. My peep show has to do with homemade peeps! Those gooey birds of goodness that we used to only get at Easter time. Now we can get them for most every holiday, but when I was a kid, I couldn't wait to get those yellow, sugary sweets in my Easter basket!

Sometimes, I like to find crazy, hair brained ideas and make things that have forever been only "factory made" In fact, sometimes this is done out of necessity! Today I went on a quest for "how to make peeps" I scrolled through Pinterest until I finally found a recipe. My response, "Challenge accepted!"

The recipe was pretty much ingredients I already had on hand. I only had to make a grocery store run for the unflavored gelatin. Here's the recipe:

Homemade Peeps

1/3 c. cool water

1 pkg unflavored gelatin

1 cup sugar

1/4 c. water

colored sugar

Put the 1/3c. cool water in large mixer bowl. Sprinkle unflavored gelatin over top of water and set aside for at least 5 minutes (or while you prepare the rest of the mixture). In a saucepan add 1/4 c. water and 1 cup sugar. Bring to a boil stirring constantly. Boil and stir until temperature reaches 238* on a candy thermometer (soft ball stage). Pour over gelatin and start mixer. Mix on med high until soft peaks are reached, about 8 to 10 minutes. 

Put the fluffy cream mixture into a piping bag fitted with a large round tip. Pipe a long oval for the body and then build up a head and pull forward for the beak. Do this on waxed paper that has a little sugar sprinkled on it.

 After you have piped your peeps sprinkle the colored sugar over them to cover. For eyes, dip a toothpick in black or blue food coloring and dot the eyes with the toothpick. Easy peasy!

I had the cutest little helper!

Okay, I would say that it was a mostly successful venture! The homemade peeps taste sooo much better than the store bought variety! Even my little grand-daughter thought so! I did learn a few things to remember for next time. I will share them with you, just so you won't have to wear the "Why didn't I do ...." hat! 

1. Have EVERYTHING ready before you get started! The marshmallow mixture sets up pretty quickly and you don't want to waste any time with it!.

2. Use the biggest decorator piping bag you can find! I used the largest one I had and it only held about half of the mixture. As I messed with the first batch, the second batch set up and couldn't be piped. Instead of throwing it out, I left it white and dropped spoonfuls into white sugar and wrapped them in waxed paper. I'm calling them "Bunny tails" instead of peeps. 

3. Use a bigger decorator tip. My peeps are about half size, but it was the biggest that I had on hand.

That's it, I hope you enjoy my little peep show! Have a blessed Easter with those you hold dear to you. Easter is my favorite holiday because it celebrates the total and complete love of Christ. His great sacrifice for us and our horrible, sinful selves.