Homemade Peeps with Shortbread Cookie Base

Marshmallows

Yield 24 3 inch peeps

Ingredients:

Sugar 4 cups

Corn syrup 4 oz

Water (bottled) 10 oz

Egg whites, pasteurized 8 oz

Knox flavorless gelatin 4 packets

Vanilla extract 2 tablespoons

Powdered sugar for dusting

Method of prep:

Make sure that mixer, whip attachments, and measuring devices are free of any fat or grease. Bloom gelatin in a small stainless steel bowl with 4 oz of the bottled water. Whip egg whites in a stand mixer with the whip attachment until slightly frothy. It is not recommended to whip this recipe by hand. Once the egg whites are just beginning to foam, stop the mixer. In a medium sauce pan, add remaining water, corn syrup, and sugar over high heat. Place bloomed gelatin over the heating sugar syrup in order to melt the gelatin. When the sugar syrup reaches 220 degrees, kick the mixer on to whip the egg whites. Do not whip the whites beyond soft peaks. Once the sugar syrup reaches 245 degrees, immediately cut the heat off. Remove the pan from the burner and in a slow, steady stream, drizzle directly onto the beating egg whites with the mixer running until the syrup is gone. Keep the mixer whipping on high and drizzle in the melted gelatin and add vanilla extract or flavoring of choice. Whip for about 10 minutes. You can change the flavor by adding different extracts like lemon or pistachio. I folded in about a cup of PB2 powder and chocolate shavings to make my Peeps chocolate peanut butter.

Prepare a half sized sheet tray by lining with parchment paper. Dust sheet tray with powdered sugar. Smooth marshmallow mixture into sheet tray and let cool at room temperature for about 3o minutes, then refrigerate for 1 hour before cutting into shapes. Make sure you dust your cookie cutter with powdered sugar to prevent the marshmallow from sticking to the cutter.

For the cookies:

Makes 24 cookies

Ingredients:

Butter unsalted, softened 1 ½ cups

Sugar 2 cups

Eggs 4

Vanilla 1 tsp

A/P flour 5 cups

Baking powder 2 tsp

Salt 1 tsp

Method of prep:

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Mix in flour mixture until fully incorporated. Form into a disk, cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out dough to ¼ to ½ inch thick. Cut into desired shapes. Place cookies at least 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 6-8 minutes. Cool completely before adding marshmallows peeps.

To assemble:

I dipped my cookie bases in dark chocolate. Tempering process follows:

Dip your cookie bases in chocolate and place onto a parchment lined sheet tray. Carefully place a peep on the cookie. Place a small amount of tempered chocolate into a piping bag and pipe two eyes and a mouth.

Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Enjoy!