It's where the freezer meets the fair: Deep Fried Twinkies.
Hostess makes them. Wal-Mart sells them.
We ate them.
But before we did, I had to find them (while an announcement was made back in June, the limited-edition products weren't available until now). This involved weeks of calling various Wal-Mart stores, being put on hold, and cursing the snack cake cosmos before recently discovering the original and chocolate flavors in a freezer of the Bowman Road location in Little Rock.
And next I had to cook them. I prepared both flavors by baking them (the box recommends between six and eight minutes) at 350 degrees; deep-frying is another recommended, although messier, option. I swaddled them in labeled foil and toted them to office colleagues in an insulated bag. If a career of writing about Deep Fried Twinkies doesn't pan out for me, I just might have a second career at Chef Shuttle. Or as a carny.
My observations:
I felt the chocolate Deep Fried Twinkie -- chocolate breaded sponge cake with a chocolate filling -- wasn't nearly chocolatey or Twinkie enough, and no amount of cooking time (nor berries or dusting of powdered sugar as they are -- yeah right! -- preciously plated on the box) would elevate it. It might be the most perplexing Hostess chocolate experiment since Suzy Q's (pronounced with extra "ewww" sound).
As for the original Deep Fried Twinkie, it's quite possibly the world's perfect food, the consummate balance of all the major (well, majorly delicious) food groups: cake, creme, grease and carbs. Not only that, these Twinkies are budget friendly. We paid $4.76 for a box of seven (unusual number, right? This Hostess is nothing if not generous); the version at the fair costs at least that much for one, excluding the price of admission, parking, armbands, etc.
Besides, it's practically health food! Sure, each fried Twinkie has 220 calories, which is more than the 135 calories in a regular Twinkie. But when did you nibble just one regular Twinkie? Never! You scarf the Twinkie twin-pack for 270 calories. So, as I see it, stopping at one fried Twinkie (and you will -- they're rich) saves you 50 calories.
Here's what my co-workers had to say:
THE GOOD
• "Mmmm. ... As a fried Twinkie virgin I was expecting a crisper outer shell. But, surprisingly, it was a little firmer than a regular Twinkie -- still soft and cushiony. But the flavor was remarkably richer and stronger than any Twinkie I ever had. And somewhat familiar, but I couldn't put a finger on it. Like a funnel cake, maybe? No, something else. In any case, it was delicious and would make a delightful dessert for any meal."
• "I was excited about trying these. I unwrapped it and it smelled like the fair. It tasted like a funnel cake with icing instead of powdered sugar. Very filling. I got halfway through it thinking, 'How am I going to finish the rest of this?' When I finished, I felt guilty for eating that much sugar. I could see myself purchasing this for an at-home get together to get people to try it out. Or for a weekend, I will be by myself and can sit and eat all my sadness and feelings. I think it works well for both."
• "I don't like regular Twinkies, but tried a fried chocolate one. It tasted just like the fried chocolate pies you can get at a fair, albeit with less chocolate filling. Now I want another one! Yum! Cooking those fried pies in a classic Dutch oven is too much work, so this might become a simpler and more accessible way to get a craving fix when I want one. Wait, how many calories is a fried Twinkie? This could be trouble!"
• "The fried chocolate Twinkie was somewhat reminiscent of the authentic state fair version, but it didn't quite re-create the same magic. That being said, it was very sugary and filled with chocolate, so I have no complaints."
• "The baked one was tasty although a bit doughy. Love that the chocolate element has been added into Twinkies; both the chocolate coating and the pudding-like chocolate filling were flavorful. Better than the Ghostbusters Key Lime Slime Twinkies I just bought for my son."
THE MEH
• "The 'regular' Twinkie tastes pretty much like a Twinkie, except surprisingly fresher than your plastic-packaged quasi-pastry. The coating adds nothing in particular except an extra layer of texture. The chocolate version is not bad, but would not be something I would deliberately seek out and choose. The chocolate filling is inoffensive; the shell is Twinkie. The coating has some chocolate flavor, but again, mostly what you get is a difference in texture."
• "Had the chocolate one. It was OK, but I wouldn't go out of my way to buy them. I think I'd prefer just a regular (not fried) Twinkie."
• "Although these are good, I, a recovering Twinkiephile, like the unfried Twinkies the best. The fried Twinkie has a heavy, 'fried' taste that seems to take a bit away from the treat's traditional flavor."
• "As with most edible nostalgia that tries to imitate an environment food at home, it misses the mark and just makes me miss the fair. Good, worth a try, but not great."
• "They were both pretty good. Personally I liked the regular one better. It had more of a coherent taste. The chocolate one was more confusing. Based on what it looked like from the outside, I expected it to be more like a Ho Ho. I think the problem is the outer crust isn't chocolatey enough and sometimes had kind of a burned taste. A better version might be to just dip the regular fried Twinkie in chocolate."
... AND THE UGLY
• "The chocolate Twinkie: The filling had a stronger milk chocolate flavor than I expected and it wasn't too sweet. But the crumbly exterior was very oily, as was the Twinkie itself. I would not buy."
• "Basically, both chocolate and regular just taste like a chunk of fried nothing. But then, I was more of a Ding Dong enthusiast and a Little Debbie devotee."
• "Ugh! The chocolate was less distasteful than the original, but that's not saying much. Leave 'em for state fair consumption, where you expect things to have that greasy aftertaste."
Play fair, email:
jchristman@arkansasonline.com
What's in A Dame is a smirk at pop culture. You can hear Jennifer on Little Rock's KURB-FM, B98.5 (B98. com), from 5:30-9 a.m. Monday through Friday.
Style on 08/23/2016