"Wanna see a Peep Show"

I have to confess I am one of those people who adore peeps, and this is the peak Peep season. You can now get Peeps year round but they used to be just an Easter treat, causing me to hoard them or as I liked to call it "my peep stash". I would sneak them into my shopping basket and inevitably I would always hear someone behind me announce, "can you believe people eat this crap" as I slinked to the checkout counter pushing my trench coat collar up and putting my sunglasses on . Now Peep lovers are not ashamed to admit their love for this sugary marshmallow treat, they have shows on Food Network, artists use them as a medium and recipes incorporating peeps are actually published. We have really come a long way baby, another thing to be thankful for in this great country of ours. So here's a little bit about peeps.

Peep Facts

In 1953, it took 27 hours to create one Marshmallow Peep. Today, it takes six minutes.

The first Peeps were squeezed one at a time out of a pastry tube and the eyes were painted on by hand. Now, machines create 3,500 Peeps' eyes per minute.

Just Born's Bethlehem, Pa., factory makes more than 1 billion Peeps a year -- that's 4 million Peeps a day.

Americans will eat more than 600 million Marshmallow Peeps and Bunnies this Easter.

Popular ways to eat Peeps: stale, microwaved, frozen, roasted, or served as toppings on pizza.

Until 1995, when lavender was added, Peeps only came in three colors: yellow, pink and white. Blue Peeps were hatched for Easter in 1998.

Each Peep has 32 calories (160 calories per five-chick serving) and 0 fat grams.

Yellow Peeps are the most popular, followed by pink, lavender, blue, then white.

During Easter, Peeps outsell jelly beans.

Peeps-manufacturer Just Born also makes Hot Tamales, Mike and Ike, Just Born Jelly Beans and Teenee Beanee gourmet jelly beans.

Peep art is quite the thing, and as peeps do not disintegrate,( What !) they are a wonderful medium for artists, as shown in this video from the Washington Post Peep contest .

If you prefer to make your own peeps in the privacy of your kitchen:
Here's a recipe for homemade peeps from twig and thistle

Well maybe after reading that it's a lot easier to run down to your nearest CVS in your trenchcoat and sunglasses.