This review is going to trigger all kinds of conflicting emotions for me. Before the winter seasonals invaded shelves, we clamored for sugar cookie to be the dominant flavor of 2015. Then Sugar Cookie Toast Crunch came out and I wrote a love letter to it. What we did not predict was for Hot Cocoa Everything to be the biggest winter trend, and I had to write another love letter to Hot Cocoa Chips Ahoy! cookies.

It’s been somewhat of an undeclared war between the two flavors. Sugar Cookie and Hot Cocoa have been battling punch-for-punch, and we even pitted them against one another when we reviewed Angie’s Boom Chicka Pop popcorn (and the movie the Wedding Singer for some reason). Sugar Cookie won that battle, but The Wedding Singer won our hearts.

Tonight, we’ve booked another fight between the flavors. Unfortunately for me and the entire universe, the vehicle will be the marshmallow. If you are unaware of my history with marshmallows, I once wrote a review so scathing that it managed to piss off 250,000 people.

Now, Peeps are a little different than your standard boring marshmallow. The Peeps line has been having a lot of fun flavoring these marshmallow candies with just about everything in existence, including Sugar Plums which don’t even exist. Lately, the trend is to dip these little chickies into more delicious foods like fudge, white chocolate, and caramel. These Sugar Cookie Peeps and Hot Cocoa & Cream Peeps are no exception. Results of dipped Peeps have been a mixed bag in my mostly unqualified opinion.

(Read Also: Review of Pumpkin Spice Peeps, Candy Corn Peeps, & Caramel Apple Peeps)

Sugar Cookie Peeps are flavored with sugar cookie seasoning (I made that up) and then dipped into milk chocolate. They smell kind of like butter, but a fake version. Not bad; just not a fully-developed sugar cookie (I Can’t Believe It’s Not Sugar Cookies!). The bite has less flavor than the aroma. Faint vanilla is about it, which I think is what most marshmallows trend towards anyway. Sugar Cookie Peeps are plenty sweet; that’s for sure. The granulated sugar add the texture that makes it feel a little like a sugar cookie would, but the flavor is mostly a miss. I’m gonna play nice today, because the Marshmallow Studio might be outside my house ready to murder me. These still suck, though.

The milk chocolate base tastes a bit better. We’re not working with the highest quality chocolate, and it predictably drives the experience much further away from sugar cookie. But eaten together, this candy is just fine, I guess. By “fine” I mean don’t waste your time with Sugar Cookie Peeps.

How Much The Marshmallow Studio Wants My Head to Roll Rating: 10 out of 10
How Many Rolls of Fat I’ve Acquired Since Starting the Blog Rating: 3 out of 10
Overall Rating: 5 out of 10

Hot Cocoa & Cream Peeps are flavored with hot cocoa & cream seasoning and are dipped in a white fudge. These smell much better than Sugar Cookie Peeps. An obvious chocolatey aroma that smells inviting like the warm chocolate beverage. Putting the Hot Cocoa & Cream Peep through my mouth guillotine, the victim’s head tastes true to the scent. Really good stuff here, as far as marshmallows go. When you think of hot cocoa, you think of artificial Swiss Miss packets that are highly sweetened and pretty damn delicious. The crystallized sugar and grit remind me of that dry hot cocoa mix.

The white fudge on the bottom of these Hot Cocoa & Cream Peeps does exactly what it’s supposed to. It adds a smooth, creamy, vanilla component that is going to have you thinking “mini marshmallows in hot chocolate.” Hot Cocoa & Cream Peeps go down easy. Thankfully they are only 150 calories for the entire pack of 3, and thank God I only bought one package because I definitely enjoyed these a whole lot. Hot Cocoa & Cream Peeps are without question my favorite Peep to date. I think they’re tasty enough that I don’t have to caveat it with “pretty good for a Peep.” I recommend you try these if you’re a hot cocoa lover, a candy addict, or just a human garbage dumpster like myself.

How Many Many Hot Cocoa & Cream Peeps I Ate In One Minute Rating: 3 out 3
How Upset I Am That I Didn’t Hate Any Marshmallows Today: 9 out of 10
Overall Rating: 8 out of 10