It’s just not a holiday until the PEEPS® come out. Those sweet, cute, and incredibly yummy marshmallows themed to every special day from Easter, Valentine’s Day, and Halloween to Thanksgiving and Christmas have been making the world a happier place since 1953. I’ve even seen 4th of July PEEPS® … or perhaps that was just my wishful thinking. There absolutely should be 4th of July PEEPS®, in my opinion.

Created by the fine folks at Just Born, these addictive treats are my favorite holiday snack. One of my family’s favorite fun destinations, Great Wolf Lodge, has just come up with some creative ways to implement these marshmallow munchkins into your holiday dessert line-up.

Check out these PEEP-a-licious recipes …

PEEPS^® Holiday Pops

Ingredients:

• PEEPS^® Peppermint Stars, and PEEPS^® Trees
• Equal number of paper straws or sticks
• 12 oz. bag of chocolate candy melts
• Sprinkles
• Crushed candy canes

Directions:

1. Remove PEEPS^® Trees and PEEPS^® Peppermint Stars from their packaging.
2. Slowly slide PEEPS^® on to each of your sticks or straws, stopping just before the straw pushes through the other end of the PEEP.
3. Lay out baking sheet and line with wax paper.
4. Melt chocolate coating according to the package directions and apply to PEEPS^® shapes.
5. Coat shapes with sprinkles or crushed candy canes and let cool.

PEEPS^® Holiday Cupcakes & Candy Cane Frosting

Ingredients:

• One batch of cupcakes
• Chocolate or Vanilla Frosting
• Crushed Candy Canes – approx. ¼ cup
• PEEPS^® Snowmen and PEEPS^® Chocolate Mousse Reindeer
• Optional toppings including sprinkles or holiday candies

Directions:

1. Prepare cupcakes according to package directions. Allow to cool completely.
2. Prepare frosting or open can of premade frosting, pour into a mixing bowl.
3. Combine frosting with ¼ cup of crushed candy canes. Mix well.
4. Frost cupcakes with candy cane frosting.
5. Top cupcakes with PEEPS^® Snowmen and PEEPS^® Chocolate Mousse Reindeer
6. If desired, garnish with crushed candy canes, sprinkles and/or holiday candies.

Tip: By using different PEEPS^®, cupcake wrappers and sprinkles/candies, you can create a variety of different looks from just one batch of cupcakes.

Please Note: These desserts are not served at Great Wolf Lodge Resorts.

Christmas at Great Wolf Lodge

If you’ve ever considered visiting Great Wolf Lodge, the Christmas season is a great time to do it. With indoor snowfall, story time, visits from Santa, and other festive events, Snowland is a magical time at the world’s premiere indoor water park/resort destination.

And, if all of that doesn’t capture your attention, take a gander at this giant gingerbread house. Big enough for a seating of six, families can reserve this spot for a very special Christmas dinner.

Check out the interactive games of Magi Quest or Shadow Quest, relax in the spa (there’s one for kids as well, or slip and slide the day away in the water park. Dunkin’ Donuts has even come on board to provide more sweet treats, coffee, tea, espresso, muffins, and breakfast sandwiches.

Great Wolf Lodge is located in several locations across the United States, including Williamsburg, Virginia; Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania: and Charlotte/Concord, North Carolina; and Grand Mound, Washington. Great Wolf Lodge New England is coming in spring of 2014.

My family is very fond of the Williamsburg branch of Great Wolf Lodge. How about you? Where’s your favorite Lodge?

Please visit GreatWolf.com to find a Lodge near you.

P.S. If you’re anywhere in the greater D.C. region, there is a PEEPS store at National Harbor, on the Potomac River and just down the street from the very impressive Gaylord National Resort. Anything and everything PEEPS, it was a fun-filled discovery for me and my wallet.

The PEEPS store also introduced me to the goodness of this …