Peeps are small marshmallow candies which are shaped into baby chickens, rabbits, and other animals. Peeps are primarily used to fill Easter Baskets. They are made from marshmallow, sugar, gelatin, and carnauba.

Peeps are usually eaten in three ways:

  • plain, out of the box
  • dried and hardened (sometimes for years).
  • microwaved (which makes the marshmallows softball-sized)

Peeps are made by Just Born. Just Born claims peeps were introduced in 1953, but most aficionados say that Peeps were originally manufactured by Rodda Candy Company starting in the 1920s. When Just Born acquired Rodda Candy Company in 1953, they automated the process and mass-marketed them. Peeps were first advertised on Television in February, 1999.

The term "peep" comes from the phrase "A hen and her peeps". Many lovers of Peeps refer to the period between February 15th and the Sunday after Easter as "Peep Season".

"On the evening of November 30, 1999, an electrical panel in the boiler room of the Just Born factory in Bethlehem, PA overheated and caught fire. Part of their electrical system was damaged, there was significant water damage, and partially-complete batches of Peeps and Bunnies were damaged. The damaged candy was sold as an animal feed ingredient." [1]

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