Friday, April 22, 2011

Happy Easter!

Rolling with My Peeps

by Howard Yoon

I like to avoid the whole "how to eat Peeps" debate by melting them and making a chocolate marshmallow pie. Start by melting the Peeps in a double boiler and cool them in a graham cracker piecrust with folds of light whipped cream and chunks of chocolate. Using Peeps instead of plain, white marshmallows give this pie a sweeter taste, thanks to the sugar-coating on the Peeps. This sweetness can be offset by a touch of brandy in the whipped cream.

This recipe creates a pie filling of a lovely, canary-yellow hue. If you dare, you can decorate it with green-dyed coconut shavings and whole Peeps on top. Another variation is to substitute the semisweet chocolate with one or two crushed toffee bars, which are a perfect complement to the marshmallow.


Chocolate and Peeps Pie

1 1/2 cups graham crackers, crushed
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 full packages of Peeps, 30 Peeps total (your choice of color), plus additional for garnish
1/3 cup hot milk
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon brandy
2 ounces semisweet chocolate, cut into small chunks and chilled in freezer (or two toffee bars chopped into bite-size pieces)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pulse graham crackers in a food processor until fine.
Mix butter, sugar and crushed graham crackers in a bowl. Press mixture evenly into the sides and bottom of a 9-inch pie plate.
Bake crust for 7 minutes until golden. Allow to cool to room temperature. (Crust can be made a day or two in advance and kept fresh in the refrigerator.)
Using a double boiler, stir in hot milk and Peeps until fully melted and uniform in color. Allow to cool to room temperature, 7-10 minutes. Do not allow mixture to stiffen.
Whip cream to stiff peaks using a hand blender or kitchen mixer. Add brandy during mixing.
Using large rubber spatula, fold whipped cream and chocolate pieces into the Peeps mixture. Make sure all of the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated.
Pour into graham cracker pie shell and refrigerate several hours or overnight.
Garnish with green coconut (see below), whole Peeps and/or more chocolate pieces.

Green Coconut Topping

This recipe is adapted from the official Peeps Web site.
2 cups of shredded coconut
6-8 drops green food coloring

Toss coconut in a tightly sealed container with 2-3 drops of food coloring
Continue to add 2-3 more drops to achieve desired shade of green.
Spread colored coconut on a paper towel to dry.
Top pie with coconut.