Marshmallow Peeps

When I think about Easter candy, the first thing that comes to mind is Marshmallow Peeps.  There's nothing like the crunch of the sugar shell when you take a bite of the fluffy marshmallow!

I had never thought about making my own Peeps; sure, I make marshmallows, but to actually make them in shapes never crossed my mind until I started seeing them all over Blogland!  I finally gave in and tried my hand at these.

The taste was phenomenal, light fluffy marshmallow, just the right flavor, sweet crunchy sugar shell...I would daresay they were better than store-bought Peeps!  However, my Peep-piping skills are severely lacking, it's okay if you laugh at my Peeps, I did too!!! This recipe made about 10 or 12 large Peeps, but out of all those I had only 1 or 2 that actually looked like chicks.  I will definitely be making these again so I can practice my piping techniques!

You will need:
1 package unflavored gelatin
1/3 cup cold water
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
Sanding sugar

1.  Pour 1/3 cup cold water into the bowl of your stand mixer.  Sprinkle gelatin over water.

2.  In a medium saucepan, combine 1/4 cup water and 1 cup sugar.  Stir over medium-heat until sugar dissolves.

3.  Boil sugar, stirring occasionally, until it reaches a temperature of 238 degrees.

4.  Pour syrup over gelatin.

5.  Using the whisk attachment, start your mixer on the lowest possible speed.  Once mixture has cooled, increase speed to medium-high.  Beat marshmallow mixture until peaks form and the mixture is able to hold its shape.  Mine took almost 15 minutes to reach this state.

6.  Scoop marshmallow mixture into a large pasty bag with a half-inch tip (or for easier clean-up, use a large Ziploc bag and cut a hole in the end to pipe).

7.  Sprinkle a large baking sheet with colored sugar.  You can easily make your own by putting sugar in a small Ziploc bag, adding a couple drops of food coloring, and squishing it around with your hands until the sugar is colored.  If you're making your own colored sugar, you'll want to do this step before making the marshmallows (or while the marshmallows are being beaten).

8.  I found that piping the chicks involved a lot of trial and error.  I'll give you the directions I used, but don't be afraid to modify them until you achieve a shape that resembles a chick!
-Pipe a 1inch wide oval shape onto a flat surface covered in sugar.  Taper the end to create the tail.
-For the head, pipe a mound on the end opposite the tail, about the width of the body.  Push toward the tail and up.  Pull away from the head to form the beak.
-Sprinkle sugar over the chick.
-Make eyes with melted chocolate and a toothpick.

9.  Store in an airtight container.  

Adapted from: Martha Stewart and The Novice Chef