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Point/Counterpoint: Are Peeps Delicious or Unforgivable?
The Takeout ^ | 2/26/2021 | Marnie Shure, Dennis Lee

Posted on 02/28/2021 7:20:19 PM PST by nickcarraway

As candy corn is to Halloween, and conversation hearts are to Valentine’s Day, so Peeps are to Easter. Seemingly every holiday has a divisive treat that has hobbled along in the American consciousness by virtue of its most ardent defenders. But Marshmallow Peeps, the flagship product of Just Born Quality Confections, seem to proliferate more and more every year, spawning new flavors, shapes, and spin-off products to the delight of some and the horror of others. If you’ve never had the pleasure/misfortune: Peeps are chick-shaped marshmallows coated in colorful sugar and dotted with two teeny chocolate pinprick eyes. They inspire delight, dread, desire, and disgust. Which team are you on?

Peeps can stay By Marnie Shure It took me decades to come around on Peeps. That’s the opposite of how an affinity for candy usually works: children start off with an insatiable appetite for sugar in all its most rudimentary forms before eventually tapering off into an adulthood of more balanced cravings and diverse flavor profiles. As a kid, I had little patience for non-chocolate treats on Easter morning, and the puffiness of Peeps irritated me: they were too filling on a day when you were rushing to eat everything else in your Easter basket. They were not nearly as rich as Cadbury Creme Eggs and the packaging caused them to go stale almost immediately (though I know some people prefer them this way).

Nowadays, I’ve come to appreciate almost everything I used to despise about Peeps. The puffy, yielding texture is a delight to bite into (provided I brush my teeth afterwards), and the fact that they’re both airy and filling makes it easy to stick to just one Peep as a little mid-morning pick-me-up. Their rather flat sweetness pairs well with a cup of coffee and doesn’t leave the cloying aftertaste of, say, a Reese’s Peanut Butter Egg. And as an adult, I now understand that plastic takeout containers, Ziploc bags, and/or Press’N Seal will keep those Peeps fresh and feelin’ their springiest.

Most importantly, though, are the game-changing flavor innovations of recent years: Sour Watermelon Peeps are a whole new springtime snacking paradigm, and I look forward to seeing if the same can be said of Blue Raspberry Peeps. What a time to be alive and consuming marshmallow products!

Texturally, there’s really nothing like a Peep, and that means it will always hold a valuable place in the Easter candy canon. I’m only sorry it took me so long to acknowledge that.

Peeps are an enemy of the people By Dennis Lee There’s a reason why Peeps are a source of derision every Easter. It’s because they are the worst. I have probably made enemies by saying that—this is the kind of truth that splits families in half—but sometimes the truth hurts. It’s just best to accept this fact and move on with life. The only redeeming quality is that Peeps are very nice to look at, and you can turn them into all sorts of homemade art projects. Those bright colors are really fun, and the faces are really cute (though I’m biased because half my best friends are stuffed animals). My favorite shape is the bunny because bunnies are already cartoonish with those giant ears, and I like the little dot eyes and dot noses. Once my friend made a Peep model of me.

Do not let the pastel colors and endearing faces fool you. Peeps are bland marshmallows covered in plain sugar, and every bite is a disappointment. But every year, I forget about how much I dislike eating Peeps, so I’ll still try one if I see it, and then I’ll be reminded one about how much I can’t stand them. Then, by the next year, the vicious cycle will repeat itself. This is how I survive in the world: with childish eternal optimism that gives everything more of a chance than it should.

The next best use of Peeps, besides putting them in an art project, is to make them all big by microwaving them, then, as you’re laughing your ass off, rip open a bag of Cadbury Mini Eggs and eat those instead.


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Food; Humor
KEYWORDS: easter; peps
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To: Irenic

Kind of like I think they put hallucinagenic drugs in microwave burritos. Can not figure out why I like them otherwise


21 posted on 02/28/2021 8:06:18 PM PST by Fai Mao
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To: nickcarraway

Yuck. I liked them as a kid, though. I was desperate for candy. LOL


22 posted on 02/28/2021 8:07:36 PM PST by madison10 (Although the wrong seems oft so strong...God is the Ruler yet!)
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To: hanamizu
I wanted so much to like shredded wheat

An impossible task, like learning to like Grape-Nuts.

23 posted on 02/28/2021 8:07:49 PM PST by Natty Bumppo@frontier.net (We are the dangerous ones, who stand between all we love and a more dangerous world.)
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To: nickcarraway

Point/Counterpoint:

“Shayna, they bought their tickets. They deserve to crash”.


24 posted on 02/28/2021 8:13:35 PM PST by Texas resident (Dimrats=CPUSA)
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To: nickcarraway

I love me peeps- stale!

you have air dry them


25 posted on 02/28/2021 8:14:18 PM PST by thesligoduffyflynns (yup)
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To: nickcarraway

Hated those.
Loved these.
https://youtu.be/QcyxlU0U3Jo
Brach’s Marshmallow Easter Hunt Eggs Candies


26 posted on 02/28/2021 8:24:10 PM PST by EasySt (Say not this is the truth, but so it seems to me to be, as I see this thing I think I see #KAG)
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To: hanamizu
As a matter of fact, I bought a box of Frosted Mini Wheats a few days ago, for the first time in a while. I like to eat them dry from a bowl, with a glass of milk.

Now I want a snack. Excuse me while a go fill a bowl.

27 posted on 02/28/2021 8:38:03 PM PST by Viking2002 (The revolution won't need to be televised. It'll be on your doorstep.)
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To: nickcarraway
I had my first recollection of Peeps as a 4 year old in Phoenix (mid 1950s). My mother get them for me to keep me busy while she was shopping.

Back then they were the real thing with real chocolate chip eyes you could bite off. I think they had orange colored beaks too. They took some time to eat, not like the two biters today.

I still go bonkers for them but only at Easter. Christmas peeps are just wrong. Opposites attract...my wife despises them. So, I get the whole package for myself. Some for the freezer, some for the microwave. Properly gourmet nuked Peeps are like taffy.

28 posted on 02/28/2021 8:42:15 PM PST by pfflier
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To: nickcarraway

I just tried the Hot Tamale version and it was delicious.


29 posted on 02/28/2021 9:11:04 PM PST by Lajmaiz
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To: freedumb2003
Delicious and the older they get the better they are.

I agree. I have some aging from 2 years ago. Just about ready!

30 posted on 02/28/2021 9:38:38 PM PST by llevrok (I'm old enough to remember when the quarantine was to be 3 weeks)
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To: freedumb2003

Yep, they have to age and get chewy.

For me, a Cadbury Creme Egg is yuk.


31 posted on 02/28/2021 9:45:34 PM PST by polymuser (A socialist is a communist without the power to take everything from their citizens...yet.)
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To: Fai Mao

Yes, they put addictive substances in some foods, I’m sure of it.

They price bacon like cigarettes...see, see...there’s a pattern!


32 posted on 02/28/2021 9:55:27 PM PST by Irenic
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To: nickcarraway

Put two Peeps in the microwave oven facing each other.

Place a toothpick in their “hand” and then turn on the microwave
to see which Peep will win the dual.


33 posted on 02/28/2021 9:56:58 PM PST by LucyT
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To: pfflier

I do agree, Christmas Peeps are just wrong.


34 posted on 02/28/2021 9:57:04 PM PST by Irenic
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To: notpoliticallycorewrecked

You forgot Circus Peanuts, those hideous things that taste like a Barbie Doll smells.


35 posted on 02/28/2021 10:49:03 PM PST by Salamander (Salamander has barbaric tendencies.../Gundog)
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To: Salamander

I am thinking that you are referring to those pink things that look and smell awful. I don’t remember ever eating those. If I did, I blocked it out of my brain.


36 posted on 02/28/2021 11:02:45 PM PST by notpoliticallycorewrecked (Donning my asbetos suit after this post. )
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To: notpoliticallycorewrecked

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circus_peanut


37 posted on 03/01/2021 12:01:28 AM PST by Salamander (Salamander has barbaric tendencies.../Gundog)
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To: nickcarraway

Peeps are fat free. Which makes them grand. Even if they are a bit bland. But new flavors abound. Which will keep them around. Comfort food that makes your toes wiggle and your smile giggle. I like peeps.


38 posted on 03/01/2021 12:54:01 AM PST by blueplum ("...this moment is your moment: it belongs to you... " President Donald J. Trump, Jan 20, 2017) )
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To: nickcarraway

I like Peeps, fresh or aged, especially when toasted over the gas stove.


39 posted on 03/01/2021 5:20:51 AM PST by HartleyMBaldwin
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To: nickcarraway

Every year I get Mr. GG2 and my BIL peeps for Easter. They count on it.


40 posted on 03/01/2021 7:21:41 AM PST by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose of a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped)
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