Peeps Chocolate Reindeer
Peeps Chocolate Mousse Flavored Marshmallow Reindeer

A Peeps Chocolate Reindeer is a front-on view of a reindeer's face, sculpted - and I use the term loosely - in "marshmallow."  Mostly brown, with black eyes and red lips.  And yes, most (not all) real reindeer are mostly brown, so it's a logical choice.  

What does it call itself:
"Peeps® BRAND CHOCOLATE MOUSSE flavored Marshmallow Reindeer"

These reindeer most often come six in a plastic tray.

Like almost all the "marshmallow" candies on the market today, this is not real marshmallow - that is, it contains no marshmallow root.  Instead it is basically foamed sweetened gelatin, with various additions.  Real marshmallow is an edible, herbal plant.  Its scientific name is Althaea officinalis, and originally the root was a principal ingredient in marshmallow candy.  

What’s the difference?  Well, my mother told me that when she was a girl - about a hundred years ago - you could take a marshmallow and stretch it out for more than a foot before it finally broke.  Try that now!  Naaahh!

"Peeps Chocolate Mousse Marshmallow Reindeer" are very similar to other styles of Peeps, with the obvious exception of being chocolatey (barely).

Although this is by no stretch of the imagination a gourmet chocolate candy, it is not at the bottom of the heap either:  at least the relevant ingredient is "cocoa powder" rather than "fake artificially-flavored imitation chocolate-like stuff."  Wait, is that a double negative?  Maybe that should be real imitation.  Wow, now I'm confused!

Let's face it, this candy's primary mission in life is fun!

If you're looking for quality nutrition, look elsewhere!

The ingredients list here is not much to write home about. 

Starting with sugar, followed by another kind of sugar (corn syrup). 

Then gelatin.  Gelatin is an animal by-product, so this is not a vegetarian-friendly candy. 

No chocolate, hence the waffle word, chocolatey.  Cocoa beans are separated during processing into cocoa and chocolate liquor (cacao fat, also called cocoa butter).  There is no chocolate liquor here, so it doesn’t qualify as chocolate. 

Then there are several highly processed minority ingredients, some of which (artificial flavors) we can’t know exactly what they are. 

And ending with four different food colorings. 

So like I said, fun yes, nutrition - not so much.