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Monday, February 28, 2011
Peeps Peepsters (Milk & Dark Chocolate)
The newest member of the Peeps repertoire is Peeps Peepsters Chocolate with Marshmallow Flavored Creme. They come in two varieties, milk and dark chocolate and sound like an interesting new version, more about the chocolate and less about the marshmallow. I found them at the drug store before Valentine’s Day, so I paid full price for my bags - $3.99, which I found startling for 11 ounces of candy whose first ingredient was sugar and contained palm kernel oil. I’ll start with the Peepsters Milk Chocolate with Marshmallow Flavored Creme which are enclosed in an easy to spot yellow bag with brown and green trim. The pieces inside are visible through a little window and foil wrapped in a matte pastel assortment of yellow, orange and pink.
The pieces are a little bit bigger than a Rolo. They feel solid and firm. Even without unwrapping them a vague soft vanilla flavor wafted from the bag. The little domes on the pieces have a little Peep on them, but that’s the only chicky thing about them. There’s really nothing that otherwise makes these feel Peepy except that the packaging tells me so. The chocolate is smooth and has an excellent snap (however, it is rather cold in Los Angeles right now, they’ve been sitting in the unheated Candy Blog studio, which is about 58 degrees right now). It’s quite sweet but what’s most notable about the creme center is how firm it is. It seems to have the same density as the chocolate. So biting into it is like biting into a thick chunk of chocolate. As you can see from the cross section, there’s a lot of chocolate and not much filling. The chocolate is sweet and milky, which adds to the marshmallow notes. The cream center does melt a bit on the tongue, kind of like a white chocolate but without the extra milk notes and malty flavor. Instead it’s all vanilla and sweetness. I didn’t get marshmallow at all. If this was served to me without a name, I don’t think think I would have come up with marshmallow as a descriptor. The essential elements of marshmallow are missing. (Lightness, fluffiness and smooth melt.)
The dark chocolate contains milk fat, so it’s not suitable for vegans ... but the creme center has milk products in it anyway. There is no gelatin in it though, so lacto-ovo vegetarians can indulge if they want to. The thickener used for the center is gum arabic. The caloric density on the dark version is slightly higher, there are two more grams of fat per serving in this version.
Again there’s nothing Peepish about these. They have a much more pronounced vanilla smells to them, and less of the milky notes. The chocolate is deep and rich, though not entirely well rounded. There are bitter, woodsy notes of charcoal and a lack of fruity notes to balance it all out. So it’s a very rough sort of flavors in combination - the one note sweet vanilla flavored center and then the cocoa powder outside. The balance of sweetness in this was much better though, so I definitely felt much less throat-searing on this version.
It’s an interesting brand extension from a company that I’ve never really though of much more than a sugar candy manufacturer. The foil is cute, but the ratio of center to chocolate was a bit off for something that I thought was going to have the lightness of marshmallow. The attention to detail on the production though is much better than my recent experiences with the Chocolate Covered Peeps. The pieces were well made and protected appropriately by their wrappings. I like that there’s no unnecessary food coloring used in the centers to make them violently yellow - so parents can feel better about giving these to kids. And for once vegetarians can enjoy a Peeps product. But if I were to pick up an Easter themed cream, I think I’d stick with the Russell Stover eggs line, even though the ratio of chocolate to cream is pretty much the opposite. UPDATE 11/29/2012: Just Born updated the packaging look for Peepsters this year, though the product remains the same. They also introduced a Christmas-themed version with red and green foil wrappings. Related Candies
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Commenting is not available in this channel entry.These definitely sound quite good, and it’s interesting that the folks who make those sugar-coated marshmallows that I like to microwave came up with this. I haven’t yet been excited about Easter candy this season, but these look neat. I especially like that it sounds like the densities and textures of the interior and the coating are well-matched.
As a huge Peeps fan I just picked up a bag of the dark chocolate version of these this past weekend. They’re not too bad, I’d say your review is pretty much spot on.
More exciting though were the dark chocolate dipped Peeps that I also picked up at the same time. These things are awesome, hopefully you get around to giving them a try too. They’re much better than the chocolate covered Peeps in my opinion.
I’m a huge Peeps fan as well. I think I’m going to try these out. Hooray for new Easter candy varieties.
This is one of the reasons that Easter is my favorite holiday. It just seems like there is more of a variety and more new things to try than during the other holidays. I’m going out shopping this morning and plan to hunt for these.
By the way, I love the comment about your unheated studio being a cold 58 degrees. Yesterday when the temp. hit 51 degrees here in Missouri, I was thrilled!
Well, I just got home from running my errands for the day, and after searching in 4 different stores, including the local candy store at the mall, I still could not locate the elusive Peepsters!
Let me know if anyone else from Missouri spots these anywhere. I’m dying to try them!
Got these for $3 at CVS yesterday (if you buy 2 or more!!) Am eager to try them. Saw them pictured in a Rite Aid ad a couple of weeks ago but could not really make anything out because the pic was very small so I was excited about your review. Disappointed though, was hoping these would be gooey like a Valomilk mini. Victoria, thanks to your comment I also bought some Peeps to try microwaved - way to be an enabler!!
Just Born owns Peanut chews, so they do mockolate pretty well. Being from the same city, Just Born threw samples of these during the City’s holloween parade. I didn’t care for the overy sweet fake chocolate.
I picked up the milk choc ones and LOVE them. seriously they are like crack to me.
Eh, I was hoping for better. The chocolate was quality but the creme left much to be desired.
I have always liked the candy and have six children that love the candy. But as of last week my grand daughter brought me a bag of Milk Chocolate Mini Peepsters. WOW, I love them… as a Diabetic I must watch myself, but what a way to go. The Chocolate is like it was 50 years ago, not this plastic taste we have now. This is better than anything they call candy today. My oldest child is 54 years old and my youngest is 44 years old, six children in all. I have tasted a lot of candy and believe me this is a winner. As of right now you can only get it at a drug store (Rite Aid 11 oz. bag for $3.99). Maybe if Wal-mart would sale it we might could get a larger bag for the same price. I would like a larger bag. With a large family 11 ounces is nothing. What can be done about this? Plus, when you have a large family you have to watch every penny, but we don’t want to give up taste.
Judy- On sale at Target for $3.29 till 4/2—which is a little better. I bought some at CVS but have not tried them yet!!
I just purchased a bag of the milk chocolate Peepsters from CVS. I got the last bag!! The cashier said they only got 2 cases of them, so - after eating just one - I felt very fortunate. I assume what happened is that, once first-time purchasers bought and tasted the premier piece, they went back and bought more. These are addicting!!! The chocolate is yummy, the marshmallow filling is Peep-filling, but they seem to be just the right combination: one flavor doesn’t dominate the other. Since I can’t seem to find these anywhere else, I can’t wait until next Easter!!!
Vegetarians can have milk fat… I think you’re confusing them with vegans.
Shannon - yup, just a typo. Fixed now.
Help!
I had the milk choc Peepster for the first time this Easter, I am in love!!!
Now how do I get access to this year round?
Is there an Easter candy website?
I hope I hope,
stripey
The Dark Chocolate ones are just delicious, they taste very similar to a warm cup of rich Hot Chocolate with marshmallows in the middle of the winter. Just Amazing, a must have!
Ok, now that Easter is over, do we need to wait a year before we can get more…..??? (please say no….)
Karen,
You can still buy delicious PEEPSTERS® and other fan favorites by visiting the PEEPS & COMPANY® online store. http://www.peepsandcompany.com/sweet-treats
Yay!!
Thank you Vicki, and my Peeps addiction thanks you.
My sister doesn’t like Peeps(I don’t know why) and was skeptical about trying Peepsters. I got her to try them. Her comment was “Boy, I’m glad Easter only happens once a year!”. Won’t she be surprised when these show up in my candy jar!!!! Yippee!!! Like stripeymeow, I’m addicted!!
i traditionally dont like maeshmallow peepsters, but after trying the dark chocolate peepsters last year, i am in love . took a while to find them this year, you should have these year round.
thedark chocolate is the best with the marshmallow. bought four bags and hop[e to find them again.
Last year my friend and I bought over 20 bags of the dark Peepsters. We couldn’t get enough of them. We handed them out to everyone we knew. They were to die for. None of us, (I served them at a party) liked the Milk Chocolate ones. However, the dark ROCKED! We have had difficulty finding them though. I usually have to go to various stores to get them as they will sell out and they don’t get restocked. Some stores don’t even know what I am talking about. They need to get out there more. However, the down fall this year is $4.00 a bag is pretty steep for an 8oz bag. I can’t afford as many at that price but do love them! Dang it. So addicting.
Hi Debbie,
I agree with you that they need to get the Peepsters out there more. I live in Detroit and this year I’ve only found them at Rite Aid for $3.99. Last year we had them here at CVS and Target, but not this year.
I’ve found that not all stores of a chain carry them. One Walgreens out of 4 has them, here. Target doesn’t have them, CVS does. It’s so inconsistent. But I’m SO glad they’re here!!!! Nom, nom, nom!!!
Thanks Karen! I will look at different locations of Target and CVS now.
Thanks for your sweet comments about our Peepsters! I, too, suffer from the same Dark Chocolate Peepster addiction. You will now find these at your local retailers at Easter AND Christmas!!! Yayy! We also sell them year-round on our online store. If you opt in to receive our email, you will receive special offers and coupons for online redemption. Please note - the packaging has changed for this product. You can see it here: http://www.peepsandcompany.com/index.php?search_str=peepster&p=catalog&mode=search&search_in=all. Enjoy!
Praise the dark chocolate Gods, I am in love. This was the first year I had seen these and I found them at Target. Paid $4.99 for them, but worth every penny. Will have to buy them online and hide them from my kids! Would love them even more if the center was more like marshmallow instead of creme.
More converts. Gave some (I was generous) to my favorite bank teller. She LOVED them!!!! Yay for Christmas!!!
I bought several bags at CVS (Indiana)for Easter baskets, but have not been able to buy them since. When will they for sale, again?
I was hoping that there would be a Halloween edition of your Peepsters released. Any chance that I’m just looking too early? My daughter and I enjoy them and I gave her the last remaining Peepster last night to cheer her up. It worked, but now I’ve got nothing.
In a previous reply, a Peepster official indicated there would be Peepsters at Christmas! I wondered about Halloween, too, but there are ghost and pumpkin Peeps! Christmas candy will be coming out before you know it! I’m so impressed that you have been able to control yourself and not eat all your Peepsters - you have more willpower than I do!
Darn, I wish we had these in Canada! I’ve never had a peep because they don’t visually appeal to me but these look yummy!
I just found the Peepster chocolates while visiting my daughter this past Christmas ‘12. She got them at Target in the Maryland area. Our local Targets didn’t have them. :( glad to know we can order on-line but it would be nice to get them in the Myrtle Beach, SC area.
LOVE LOVE LOVE these candies. Wish they were available year round in Manassas, VA. Hubby gave me these last year for Easter and I ran to Walgrens and bought the remaining bags left on the shelves. Have been waiting all year for new stock. Stopped at Walgren’s today, they didn’t have them, so I placed and order for 10 bags online! Took “a few” to my niece in Charlotte, NC and she also became addicted. I think they are just the right ratio of chocolate to marshmellow and hope the company will not change a thing.
My husband and I are not real peeps fans that we both loved Peepsters and look forward to having more of them.
Update? Are these discontinued? I’ve seen a couple boxes in one store (milk chocolate) but zero dark chocolate. I’m bummed out!
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