Peep Bunny Race Cars

In the Coal Region, the store shelves will be stocked full of Peeps, the classic marshmallow candy, in the shape of chicks and bunnies in a rainbow of colors as Easter approaches.

I cannot remember an Easter during my youth where Peeps were not claiming a spot in the Easter basket my parents put together for me every year.

The squishy sweet treats were easily found in my area of Pennsylvania thanks to the proximity of “home” to the manufacturer of this iconic candy – Just Born located in Bethlehem, Pa.

I never outgrew my love of Peeps and have ventured out into the realm of new shapes and flavors introduced throughout the years. But no matter the shape, color, or flavor, I prefer my Peeps aged to a certain “chew”, accomplished by opening the package to expose them to air — or “to breathe” — kind of like a fine wine, come to think of it!

However you like your Peeps (or even if you don’t like them, you have to admit these are worth the effort just for the “cute factor”), assemble a couple of these and watch the faces of everyone who sees them light up this Easter.

---

You will need

• Vanilla creme-filled snack cakes (such as Twinkies or store brand similar cakes)
• 1 tub of ready-to-spread vanilla frosting (as the “glue”)
• ! package of bunny-shaped Peeps in your choice of color(s)
• 1 bag coated mini pretzels (such as white or milk chocolate coated Flipz, with sprinkles, etc. OR plain mini pretzels)
• Mini vanilla or chocolate creme-filled sandwich cookies (such as mini Oreos)
• OPTIONAL – additional sprinkles
• Butter knife
• Steak knife (with aerated section)

---

Let’s get rolling!

Note: Have fun with these! You can use any mini pretzel you like. The cookies can be dis-assembled for use or use them exactly as they come from the package. Melted candy coating wafers can be used in place of the vanilla frosting.

Step 1: Cut a “v” shape in the top of the snack cake about 2.3 of the way in from one end taking care not to cut all the way through the bottom of the cake. Remove the cut out cake wedge and set aside

Step 2: Remove a Peep bunny from the package by pulling apart gently or use a knife to get a clean cut without distorting the bunny.

Step 3: Spread a little frosting from the tub onto the bottom back edge of the bunny using the butter knife. (Make sure the opening you cut in the snack cake is wide enough to accommodate both the bunny and a pretzel (steering wheel) inside. Place the bunny to the rear of the opening and hold in place for a couple seconds.

Step 4: Using the butter knife, spread a little frosting on the top (the part with the 2 “bumps”) of the pretzel and place it in the opening, in front of the bunny and up against the cut edge of the snack cake. If your pretzel has a “nice” side, face that toward the front of the “car”. Hold for a couple seconds.

Step 5: Spread a little frosting on one side of a mini cookie (for the tire), Note that you can twist the cookies apart and use the half cookies or use the whole cookie, either works fine. Place the cookie on the side of the snack cake so it is placed where a tire would go. Repeat with remaining 3 “tires”

That’s it! Your Peep in a race car is ready to roll!

Feel free to add some sprinkles to the pretzel if you desire. Simply coat the pretzel with a thin layer of frosting (your finger works best here) and dip in sprinkles before placing the pretzel in the “car” in front of the peep.

If you find the “naked” spots of marshmallow on the bunny where he was connected to his neighboring bunny in the package to be unattractive, colored sugar can be used to patch this up. You can find colored sugar, aka “sanding sugar” in the cake decorating section of grocery stores or wherever cake decorating supplies are sold. The sugar comes in a wide variety of colors and often can closely match your bunny body colors.

---

Easy video instructions

---