Make Spring Dough at Home

Materials you'll need

• Marshmallow Peeps
• Coconut oil
• Powdered sugar, plus extra for your hands
• Microwave-safe bowl
• Fork
• Measuring spoon
• Cookie cutters (optional)

 

Step-by-step tutorial

Step 1: Unwrap 4 marshmallow Peeps and place them into a microwave-safe bowl. Add ½ tsp of coconut oil.

Step 2: With adult help, microwave the Peeps for 15–30 seconds until they puff up and start to melt. Be careful as they'll be very hot!

Step 3: Add 4 tbsp of powdered sugar to the hot melted marshmallows.

Step 4: Use a fork to mix everything together until a dough starts to form.

Step 5: Once it's cool enough to handle, knead the dough with your hands until it's smooth and stretchy. Dust your hands with powdered sugar to keep it from sticking. Use cookie cutters or your hands to cut and mold the dough into any spring shapes you like!

Learn more

This springy dough works because of a special protein called gelatin — one of the main ingredients in marshmallows. Gelatin is solid at room temperature, but when you heat it up, its molecules loosen and start to flow, turning the marshmallow soft and stretchy. The coconut oil keeps the dough smooth and pliable, while the powdered sugar absorbs extra moisture (thanks to the cornstarch mixed into it) and gives the dough its firm, workable texture. It's the exact same science that cake decorators use to make marshmallow fondant — the silky, sculpted icing on fancy cakes!