Roasting Peeps and Other Ways to Use Leftover Easter Candy

A couple of years ago, a friend told me her favorite way to make S’mores. Roasted Peeps! She explained how she likes to stock up on Peeps during the after-Easter clearance, and then hide them on the top shelves to save for summer bonfires. I had never heard of this before, and given my love of Peeps, all I could think of was what a great idea!

Since the Easter season was already long past when she told me this, I purchased some Peeps from the local Peeps store on National Harbor and hid them away in my closet. When we got ready for our first fire-pit fire of the summer, I had a nice stash to pull out for roasting Peeps.

Apparently, the extra sugar on the outside of Peeps adds a little extra caramelization for the s’mores. The marshmallow center is a little bit different than a typical marshmallow since it doesn’t roast exactly the same. I had some kids who absolutely loved roasted Peeps on their s’mores, and some who preferred regular marshmallows.

But either way, it was a fun way to celebrate the turn from spring to summer with our friends and plenty of s’mores were had by all. Of course, we also just enjoyed the roasted Peeps plain, sans chocolate and graham crackers.

If you want to make Roasted Peeps S’mores, there are a few things that make the process easier. One, break all the graham crackers in half ahead of time. Two, break up the chocolate ahead of time too. Three, have a couple of adults ready to pull the roasted Peep off the roasting stick *using* the graham crackers and chocolate.

This keeps fingers from getting burned. It seemed to me that the Peeps got hotter to the touch (maybe because of the sugar?), but cooled faster so it’s super important to move fast if you want melted chocolate. They aren’t as dense as regular marshmallows either so this contributes to less chocolate melting.