With Easter on the horizon, the annual novelty-candy wars are in full swing. For the kids, Brach’s jelly beans or Jelly Belly? For more refined palates, Lindt or Godiva treats? For chocolate bunny fans, Russell Stover or Hershey’s? And perhaps the hardest-fought battle: Cadbury Creme Egg or Marshmallow Peeps?
YEAR FIRST PRODUCED
Cadbury Creme Egg: 1971
Marshmallow Peeps: 1953
CALORIES PER SERVING
Cadbury Creme Egg: 150 (1.2-ounce/34-gram egg)
Marshmallow Peeps: 140 (5 yellow chicks, 1.5 ounces/42 grams)
FIRST AND SECOND INGREDIENTS ON NUTRITION LABEL
Cadbury Creme Egg: Milk chocolate (first ingredient of milk chocolate: sugar), sugar
Marshmallow Peeps: Sugar, corn syrup
UNSETTLING INGREDIENT
Cadbury Creme Egg: High-fructose corn syrup
Marshmallow Peeps: “Pork-derived gelatin”
PALETTE / PALATE
Cadbury Creme Egg: Ovoid brown shell, white fondant center with a dab of yellow (the “yolk”), in blue, green, yellow, and red foil wrapper / So sweet you’ll crave real eggs
Marshmallow Peeps: Yellow, pink, lavender, white, blue, green, or orange / So sweet you’ll crave real chicken
EASY TO MAKE AT HOME?
Cadbury Creme Egg: Possible but not advisable (unless you already own an egg-shaped candy mold)
Marshmallow Peeps: Define “easy.”
CAN YOU MAKE OTHER STUFF WITH THEM?
Cadbury Creme Egg: Not really, but you can make one out of other stuff. (Google “Lego Cadbury Creme Egg”)
Marshmallow Peeps: Peeps diorama competitions — with entries illustrating themes that have ranged from the Bible to Hamilton — have taken place since at least 2004 (in St. Paul); municipalities with contests now include our own Bedford and Nantucket and Washington, D.C.
SOCIAL MEDIA DOMINANCE
Cadbury Creme Egg: Peak Pinterest: Instructions for crocheting a hat or animal-shaped “cozy” for a Creme Egg. Bonus: Numerous recipes that are making our teeth hurt just from reading them.
Marshmallow Peeps: Peak YouTube: “Arm” two Peeps by sticking toothpicks into their midsections, then pop them into the microwave (on a paper plate) and watch them “joust.” Bonus: “Peepshi,” or Peeps sushi, with rice made out of flattened Rice Krispies treats.
JUST ONE OF THE JOUSTING VIDEOS FROM YOUTUBE:
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
Cadbury Creme Egg: The Hershey plant in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, manufactures Creme Eggs for the US market under license from UK-based Cadbury, a subsidiary of Mondelez (formerly Kraft).
Marshmallow Peeps: Just Born Inc. makes Peeps in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and distributes them in the United States and Canada.
ARE COWS INVOLVED?
Cadbury Creme Egg: In the milk chocolate shell, yes; to make a British person melt down, ask whether Cadbury UK still uses Dairy Milk chocolate to enrobe its Creme Eggs (no)
Marshmallow Peeps: Yes, if you live in the area served by Illinois-based Prairie Farms, which manufactures Peeps-flavored milk (seriously)
SPOKESANIMALS
Cadbury Creme Egg: A clucking Flemish Giant rabbit, a.k.a. the Cadbury Bunny, annually defends its mascot gig against TV-commercial “challenges” by bunny-ear-wearing animals that have included a pig, a lion, a llama, and a Persian cat.
Marshmallow Peeps: A human in a yellow chick costume and a VW Beetle with a huge (non-candy) chick attached to the roof represent Peeps at events and on the road.
CADBURY BUNNY TRYOUTS:
THE VERDICT
Cadbury Creme Egg: The tiny hats and cute bunny almost swayed us, but . . .
Marshmallow Peeps: . . . dioramas and jousting add up to victory.
Sources: Hershey’s; Just Born
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