My Love Affair With Peeps

It's Easter season, and I just couldn't let this month pass without talking about my favorite junk food candy, Peeps. But before I get into that, here's a little background on my sixty year love affair with marshmallows.

When I was a kid, my sister and I looked forward to the nights my parents went out for the evening. As soon as they left we'd get the mix master out, crack about 4 eggwhites into a bowl, beat until stiff, then add sugar to taste. Then we'd eat the whole bowl, just like that. I know it's hard to believe, but we just loved beaten egg whites and sugar. At camp, betweeen the ages of 10-13, everyone knew I waited for the nightly marshmallow roasts. When I got a little older, lemon meringue pie became my favorite. I just loved the meringue. Further on in life, I learned how to cook meringue cookies. Yum. I still go to Champagne occasionally to get one.

When I go to See's, it's not the chocolate I'm after. It's those impossible to resist scotch kisses (marshmallow covered with carmel, wrapped in paper with the twisted ends). When we moved into our Del Mar house many years ago, a friend of mine brought me a huge glass bowl filled with scotch kisses. What a challenge it was to not eat them all right away.

I discovered Peeps about 20 years ago, and have bought them every Easter season since. Originally there was only one kind, the yellow chick that came in a 5 pack. Things have changed over the years. They come in 5 packs, 10 packs, bunnies, chicks, dogs, etc, and many different colors. I still go for the original, yellow. (I know, they all taste the same). They even make a sugar free Peep, but it doesn't measure up. If I'm going to eat them, I want the original.

Rationing Peeps is my problem. I will buy a 10 pack, decide to take it home and eat one row later that evening, the other row the following day. Hardly ever does the package get home unopened. There's just something about them. They're calling me. I open the pack, intent on taking just one, and before you know it the whole row of 5 is gone. It's hopeless. I thought I might make it through this Easter season without a single Peep, but no, I failed. I bought a 10 pack of peeps, put them in the freezer (thought if I didn't see them all the time they'd last longer), but unfortunately I remembered them in the middle of the afternoon and proceeded to eat the entire package. So much for self control.

I don't even want to go into my love affair with marshmallows. Use your imagination. Marshmellow creme, plain or toasted marshmallows, it doesn't matter. It's just that mixture of sugar (or corn syrup) and water that gets me every time. I know that gourmet marshmallows are the latest trend, but fortunately I haven't tasted them yet. I'm going to hold off as long as I can.