Twinkies® have been in the news lately. They’ve been in existence since 1930. I saw one fried at Kennywood. You might remember the reference the Twinkies Defense? And now the company is filing for Chapter 11. With word of bankruptcy- the future of Twinkies unknown.
Would you believe that PBS has an Ode to Twinkies contest, haikus and all, to honor this American snack classic (from the label)? You can click on the link and read some of them, no matter how you feel about Twinkies
Surely they could accommodate different forms- limerick, sonnet, a villanelle or sestina.
I’m not a Twinkies fan but that sure sounds unAmerican.
I’m fascinated by the snack cake phenomenon. Little Debbie, Tastycake, Drake’s Cakes and Moon Pies etc. and I am always looking for food to photograph.
The other night my friend R(who is the inspiration for this post today) was over for dinner and we were talking Twinkies®. I showed her the recipe in my old 1979 Junk Food Cookbook. We spoke of Urban legends. Someone told us that a penny left in Coca-Cola for three weeks will disintegrate but a Twinkie® soaked in the same Coca-Cola the same time period, remains unchanged. Makes one want to experiment, though, just to test the hypothesis.
But Science Fair projects aside, I thought I’d purchase a pack of Twinkies and photograph them and include the wacky cookbook, too.
After school I went to the Bryant Street Market and the Hostess selection on the wire rack was slim. One package of Snoballs, the pink rubbery marshmallow coating and coconut flakes over a half sphere of chocolate cake and white fluffy filling in the center, two wax coated paper sleeves of fruit pies and the Bonus Packs of Twinkies with an extra cake. Great!
440 calories from this package alone! YIKES!
I thought it would be cool to post the homemade version out of the Junk Food Cookbook but then I read the front page and decided against it. Alas, I have zero permission from the publisher. Copyright important to respect and no time to write to the publisher and get permission.
If you want to see a list of sightings in movies and TV shows there’s a list at this link
Twinkie Twinkie Little Cake
How long do you take to bake?
Most of your ingredients
Sound like they are fake.
Perhaps if Hansel and Gretel had dropped
Twinkie crumbs, the birds wouldn’t have touched them
and they could have found their way out of the woods.
Now I sit here in the middle of the night reading your blog and I am tickled to death. Never seen a fast food cookbook before. Yours sure looks used. I love Twinkies, not good for me but as a child one of my favorate treats. Scrolled down blog and OMG you photographed the inside like you just took a bite. Now I’m tempted and HUNGRY for a Twinkie. Not fair, but I love your post and your photos.
Francine, that cookbook saw some use in the early 80s and it is expensive to buy one used now. I am so glad you enjoyed today’s post to the Twinkies. You can borrow the cookbook and get the recipe for homemade twinkles in case they stop making them as I hear.
Mine was a deprived childhood; Mom didn’t approve of Twinkies. As an adult, except on the rarest of occasions, I did not go out and buy them but I did find comfort knowing that they were there, waiting for me, should I ever want one. Even today, knowing that Hostess has filed for bankruptcy and that the production of Twinkies may soon be completely stopped, forever, I find solace knowing that there will be Twinkies in vending machines, fresh as ever, for decades to come.
Your mother was a wise woman, not approving of Twinkies. Your image of Twinkies in vending machines “fresh as ever” is a good one. Thanks for good words.
Twinkie, twinkie, little bar,
How I wonder what you are?
Soft white filling stuffed inside,
Ruthie’s even seen you fried!!!
That’s an early morning offering. Haven’t eaten one in years!!!
I too was a deprived child! No twinkies, TV dinners or other “not homemade” foods that I was just sure were delicious. The thought of eating one now makes me a little nauseated. I love the cookbook!
I longed for a TV dinner. I remember wanting Wonder Bread with the colored balloons on the wrapper as my mother took the loaves of whole wheat out of the oven. Crazy isn’t it?
True story. One time during grade school someone made off with a pack of Twinkies from another kid’s lunch box at the bus stop. A tussel ensued and somehow a Twinkie ended up high in the branches of the apple tree on the street corner. It remained there through the seasons until the leaves fell off the tree in the fall. With much effort it was knocked out of it’s perch and looked fine when it hit the ground, still in the cellophane wrapper. Just as someone was about to pick the Twinkie up to test it a dog swooped in and scooped it up and took of with about twenty kids of all ages in pursuit. A “Little Rascals” moment in real life.
Andy, thanks for sharing that wild story today about the Twinkies.
Really funny.
Ruth – My only question for today: after the photo shoot did you eat the Twinkie?
No
Sent from my iPhone
Steve did eat one
Sent from my iPhone
Oh Ruth, why do you hate America. Oh wait, I don’t like Twinkies either. Ruth you are a great American!
And you are going to receive the award for most hilarious commenter!
Ah yes, I remember eating a Twinkie once and thinking that there was something otherworldly (like noxious gasses) and unnatural about them. I can still recall the texture, not to mention the, uh, taste. Am somehow not surprised to read that they won’t disintegrate in coca-cola!
A little cake that is totally fake! Thanks for taking time to comment on the post today.
When I was a kid I loved the Snowballs! I couldn’t eat one now with a clear conscience. But love the way the creme filling tastes and f.eels on my tongue. My husband still loves them.
I remember peeling the “skin” off of the Snowball and eating them separately. I think more people eat them than will admit to it!
Thanks for your comment today.
MY mother would tell me “there is no food in that!”.
Hilarious! Love it! (Hate twinkies, though!!!)
I used to like Twinkies, but now, not so much. I’m still a big fan of Tastykake peanut butter kandy kakes! Yum!!! But that’s an entirely different company . . .
As a kid I consumed more than my fair share of Hostess products. (There was an outlet store near us, and it was a cheap treat my mom would buy us.) Hand pies (blueberry was my favorite, but I ate cherry, apple, and chocolate, too), snoballs, zingers, ding dongs, and yup, Twinkies – all so tasty. And so horrifically bad for you. 🙂 I’m surprised I did weigh 300 lbs as a kid. (Seriously.)
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