Peeps-apalooza 2020

I don't love Peeps... but I don't hate them, either. Peeps made appearances in my Easter baskets throughout my childhood, to the point that I'll buy at least one package for old time's sake every year. (For the record, I like the chick shape more than the bunny shape.) In recent years, Peeps have branched out to target different holidays, with pumpkin-shaped Peeps for Halloween and tree-shaped Peeps for Christmas. 

Still, Easter is the big event. It's no wonder that the fine folks at Peeps would put most of their eggs into the Easter basket. When I was out this year a few weeks before Easter, I counted no less than 8 different flavors of Peeps available. I've never really tried the different flavors, but with a blog I want to be great comes great responsibility. 

So I took a deep dive.

I thought Party Cake Peeps were okay. They taste just like a regular Peep at first. Eventually, there's a subtle cake batter flavor, but it wasn't strong enough to be distinctive. I like the idea of these, but the final product was so close to an original Peep that I didn't think there was enough that set it apart. 

On the other hand, I thought Hot Tamales Peeps were really good. It's been awhile since I've had any of that candy, so I couldn't remember how hot the cinnamon flavor was. But it was pitched just right, with the heat from the cinnamon nicely balanced by the sweet sugar of the marshmallow. I would buy these again, no question. 

Cotton Candy was another inspired choice. It is sweeter than a regular Peep, with a cotton candy flavor. It's hard to describe how that could be so, except that it tastes more sugary somehow (unless the power of suggestion helped that out). However, this was another one that wasn't too far from a regular Peep. 

And then there was Sour Watermelon. The only artificially watermelon-flavored food or drink I've liked has been the watermelon slushie drink that Taco Bell had in the past few years. I wasn't a fan of watermelon Oreos when they came out, and I'm not a fan of Sour Watermelon Peeps. They remind me too much of the Watermelon Bubblicious gum. I tend to like that flavor as a gum, but as a food, I get this feeling that I shouldn't swallow it. This had a strong flavor, too. It might have been a bit better if it wasn't as sour. 

Aside from flavored Peeps, I also came across Peeps that were dipped in chocolate and/or filled. I've previously balked at these, since one package of 3-4 of these Peeps might cost the same as an entire package of 10-15 regular Peeps. Still, in the interest of science, I decided to try these out. 

Coconut dipped in dark chocolate is actually pretty good. The coconut flavor is subtle at first, and could be stronger, but it's enough to satisfy. It's still fundamentally a Peep, just with a hint of coconut. The chocolate makes it a winner. I know it's not necessarily the healthiest thing to dip a Peep in chocolate, but we don't eat these every day, either.

The regular Peep dipped in milk chocolate was also good. You likely know what a regular Peep tastes like. Add some milk chocolate and it's a sweet treat. The chocolate adds a good flavor. (Maybe everything should be dipped in chocolate?)

Chocolate Caramel Swirl took me by surprise. The packaging describes it as "chocolate marshmallow filled with creamy caramel dipped in rich chocolate." I thought this one was very good. There is only a small amount of filling, so you'll likely need to eat the whole thing or at least half to taste it. But it's an interesting flavor combination, and interesting to have a filling. The filling itself was more caramel-flavored than caramel, in my opinion. It wasn't smooth or creamy like caramel in a candy bar, but was more like a caramel custard.

Finally, there was Raspberry in creme-flavored fudge. I wanted to like this, but the raspberry flavor seemed off for me. I wanted to it to be stronger and slightly more tart. Instead, this had the sweetness of artificial raspberry without any tartness. The white creme was okay; I wouldn't say it was great nor bad. I likely wouldn't buy this again.

Thank you for joining me on my Peeps odyssey. I'm glad I tried these out and saw how I liked them. For me, some were winners, while others had flavors that were either too strong or too weak, instead of being "just right." I'll know in the future if I ever see these again to add Hot Tamale, Coconut, and Chocolate Caramel Swirl Peeps to my cart. 

Key Info - Flavored Peeps:

Flavor: Party Cake Peeps
Date Announced/Found: March 2020, Walgreens

Description: Party cake flavored marshmallow

Package size: 10 Chicks

Serving size: 4 chicks, 110 calories, 0 grams fat, 24 grams sugar

Flavor: Hot Tamales Peeps
Date Announced/Found: March 2020, Mariano's (Kroger)

Description: Hot Tamales Fierce Cinnamon

Package size: 10 Chicks

Serving size: 4 chicks, 110 calories, 0 grams fat, 24 grams sugar

Flavor: Cotton Candy Peeps
Date Announced/Found: March 2020, Walgreens

Description: Cotton candy flavored marshmallow

Package size: 15 Chicks

Serving size: 4 chicks, 110 calories, 0 grams fat, 24 grams sugar

Flavor: Sour Watermelon Peeps
Date Announced/Found: March 2020, Walgreens

Description: Sour watermelon flavored marshmallow

Package size: 15 Chicks

Serving size: 4 chicks, 100 calories, 0 grams fat, 22 grams sugar

Key Info - Dipped/Filled Peeps:

Flavor: Coconut Peeps in Dark Chocolate
Date Announced/Found: March 2020, Target

Description: Coconut flavored marshmallow dipped in decadent dark chocolate

Package size: 3 Chicks

Serving size: 3 Chicks, 150 calories, 3.5 grams fat, 29 grams sugar

Flavor: Marshmallow Peeps in Milk Chocolate
Date Found: March 2020, Target

Description: Marshmallow dipped in decadent milk chocolate

Package size: 3 Chicks

Serving size: 3 Chicks, 160 calories, 3.5 grams fat, 29 grams sugar

Flavor: Chocolate Caramel Swirl
Date Found: March 2020, Target

Description: Chocolate marshmallow filled with creamy caramel dipped in rich chocolate

Package size: 4 Chicks

Serving size: 2 Chicks, 120 calories, 3 grams fat, 20 grams sugar

Flavor: Raspberry Peeps in Creme Fudge
Date Found: March 2020, Target

Description: Raspberry flavored marshmallow dipped in decadent creme flavored fudge

Package size: 4 Chicks

Serving size: 4 Chicks, 210 calories, 4 grams fat, 39 grams sugar