Because 1.5 billion Peeps a year simply aren’t enough.

This Easter, why not add to that staggering population by making a few of your own marshmallow critters. From scratch.

Sure, the real things — as cranked out in bright colors by Just Born Inc. in Bethlehem, Penn. — can be had for pennies apiece. But they’ll never have the character, the personality, the spirit you could give your own.

Plus, it’s a creative and (mostly) child-friendly project.

Authentic Peeps are basically dollops of tinted marshmallow coated with colored sugar. On her Web site, Martha Stewart has directions for making similar critters by piping marshmallow into bunny shapes.

It looks nice. It also looks hard. Marshmallow is difficult to work with (it is, after all, rather sticky). And piping is tricky (it takes experience to not make everything look like blobs).

Clearly, a simpler approach was warranted.

The solution turned out to be cookie cutters. After spreading freshly-made marshmallow in a thin layer and coating both sides with colored, coarse sugar (also called sanding sugar), it was easy to use cutters to extract bunnies, ducklings and chicks.

This is not a difficult recipe, but some planning is advised. Once the marshmallow is spread in a thin layer and coated with sugar, it must set up overnight (or about eight hours) before cutting.

Also, making the marshmallow is an adults-only task. It involves boiling sugar and corn syrup and cooking it to 244 F, then whisking it with gelatin. Do not attempt this without a stand mixer.

Once the marshmallow has set, the children come in. They can use cookie cutters to make a variety of marshmallow critters, then finish them with decorating gel (available in the baking section of most grocers).

It is best to make each batch of marshmallow one color. Ideally, tint the marshmallow the same color as the sugar you plan to coat it with. This helps to hide gaps in the sugar coating.

If you’d rather not commit to one color, leave the marshmallow white and use white decorating sugar to coat it. The children then can add color designs using the decorating gels.

It’s also easy to add flavoring to these marshmallow animals. Substitute any extract for the vanilla, such as peppermint if you plan to use pink coloring or lemon for yellow.

Marshmallow Animals

Ingredients

Special equipment:

Rimmed baking sheet

Stand mixer with whisk attachment

Candy thermometer

Wooden spoon

Offset spatula

Cookie cutters

For the marshmallow:

Three 4-ounce containers colored, coarse decorating sugar (all the same color)

2 1/2 Tbsp. unflavored gelatin

1 cup water, divided, plus 1 tsp.

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1/4 tsp. salt

Food coloring (gel food colorings are best, but any can be used)

2 tsp. vanilla extract

Cooking spray

Decorating gel

Directions

Spread one container of the decorating sugar evenly over the rimmed baking sheet. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together the gelatin and 1/2 cup of the water. Let stand 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a heavy 2-quart saucepan combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, sugar, corn syrup and salt. Stir well, then add food coloring until desired color is reached. This also can be adjusted later.

Cook, stirring constantly, over low to medium-low heat until the sugar has dissolved.

Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil, stirring often. Clip a candy thermometer to side of pan.

Reduce heat to medium and boil at a moderate, steady rate, stirring frequently, until the thermometer registers 244 F, about 15 minutes. Watch carefully to prevent mixture from boiling over. If necessary, reduce heat to medium-low.

With the stand mixer (with whisk attachment) on low to medium-low, slowly pour the hot sugar mixture into the gelatin mixture. Increase mixer to high and beat 15 minutes. Mixture should be thick, white and nearly tripled in volume.

Add the vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon water, then beat until combined. If marshmallow is not the desired color, add additional food coloring and mix until just incorporated.

Spray the wooden spoon with cooking spray, then spoon the mixture onto the prepared pan. Spray the offset spatula with cooking spray, then use it to spread the marshmallow evenly over the pan in a 1/3- to 1/2-inch-thick layer.

Sprinkle a second container of decorating sugar over the marshmallow and use your hands to spread it, coating the marshmallow evenly. Let stand, uncovered, overnight.

Once the marshmallow has set, use cookie cutters to cut animals from it. Set them aside, making sure the edges don’t touch. Once all the animals have been cut, discard the scraps of marshmallow, but save the excess sugar in the pan.

Gather the excess sugar in a pile and gently roll the edges of the marshmallow animals in it to coat. They now can be decorated as desired using the decorating gel.

Makes 16 large animals (yield varies by cookie cutter size).