Hostess - The Twinkies Cookbook, Twinkies 85th Anniversary Edition: A New Sweet and Savory Recipe Collection from Americas Most Iconic Snack Cake

Copyright 2015 by Hostess Brands, LLC
Copyright 2006 by Interstate Bakeries Corporation
Food photography copyright 2006, 2015 by Leo Gong

All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.
www.crownpublishing.com
www.tenspeed.com

Ten Speed Press and the Ten Speed Press colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.

Twinkies and Hostess are registered trademarks of Hostess Brands, LLC.

A previous edition of this work was published in the United States by Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, in 2006.

All archival photography copyright by Hostess

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The Twinkies cookbook : a new sweet and savory recipe collection for Americas most iconic snack cake hostess. Revised edition.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Cake. 2. Desserts. 3. Twinkies (Trademark)
TX771.T85 2015
641.8653dc23

2014048733

Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-60774-771-0
eBook ISBN: 978-1-60774-772-7

Hardcover Design by Kara Plikaitis

v3.1

Hostess Brands, LLC, the maker of Hostess Twinkies, would like to thank the following individuals and organizations for making this special recipe collection possible:

C. Dean Metropoulos & Co. and Apollo Global Management for helping to ensure a bright future for one of Americas greatest brands;

All of the Hostess Brands employees who devoted their time and talents to this project;

Hannah Arnold, who conceived the original The Twinkies Cookbook and this sequel and wrote the introduction chronicling the role of Twinkies in our history and society, and the team at LAK Public Relations;

Kathy Moore and Roxanne Wyss of The Electrified Cooks for expertly testingand tastingthese recipes;

And especially the legions of loyal Twinkies fans who have made the sweet treat the gold standard and continue to be the cream of the cake!

For several generations, Hostess Twinkies have tantalized Americas taste buds with a sweet and irresistible charm, creating a lasting and indelible impressiona magical mystique that seemed certain to live on forever.

Until the unthinkable happened.

At the end of 2012, eighty-two years after the golden cream-filled treat danced onto the snack cake stage, its future was in doubt. The brands then-owners announced plans to shutter operations and Hostess products began disappearing from store shelves. Long the fodder of urban legends, Twinkies shelf life was expiring.

As obituary writers shed sugary tears penning the loss of a legacy, a groundswell of public emotion began to ensue. The social media universe erupted with passionate posts, headstonelike hashtags of the distraught. No more Twinkies, No more Ho Hos, No more reason to live, read one tweet. Grassroots Save the Twinkie campaigns sprouted in the heartland. One YouTube video attracted more than five million views. Politico even reported on a White House petition asking President Obama to nationalize the Twinkie industry to save the popular junk food from possible extinction.

Consumers simply couldnt imagine a world without Twinkies.

Hollywood heavyweights joined the chorus. Celebrities Mourn the Demise of the Hostess Twinkie, reported the Huffington Post , featuring screen shots of tweets from actors, including Rob Lowe who said, Mr. President, the time for intervention is now!

As word of the Twinkies travesty spread, shoppers began stockpiling treats amid hoarding frenzies, many standing in line for hours to pick up the last of the lot. Some purchased for stocking stuffers and others to freeze in perpetuity. Local restaurants offered special Twinkie-themed promotions as farewell tributes to the familiar friend. And collectors sprung into action as the Associated Press reported Twinkies were being sold on the Internet like exquisite delicacies, with other outlets noting Twinkie-pocalypse Fears and Twinkiegeddon as black market prices skyrocketed. One seller reportedly hoped to fetch $5,000 for a Twinkie and the opportunity to own a piece of history, a delicious piece at that. Twinkie Madness Grips Chicago, said Fox News, as the last shipments of Hostess products hit shelves.

The message was clear: consumers were not going to let the beloved Twinkie twinkle off into the sunset. From the surreal to the sublime, it was a snacktravaganza for the ages.

By the end of the year, Twinkies were no longer in stores. But a miracle was on the horizon.

Investors C. Dean Metropoulos & Co. and Apollo Global Management answered the callbuying select Hostess assets out of bankruptcy and embarking on ambitious plans to return Hostess products to shelves within only a few months.

On July 15, 2013, Hostess treats were once again being sold throughout the country as the iconic brand staged the Sweetest Comeback in the History of Ever to the delight of legions of fans. Twinkies had turned back time.

As the fanfare mounted and new boxes flew off of store shelves, it became clear that one sweet comeback deserved another. The idea for The Twinkies Cookbook, Twinkies 85th Anniversary Edition was borna celebration of a sweet sensation, with a country of enthusiasts fueling its astonishing staying power.

We want to thank the thousands of fans who made their voices heard to pave the way for the return of a brand that continues to stand as an icon of Americana. We especially want to thank the culinary wizards who channeled their creativity and opened up their virtual recipe boxes to make the second edition of this cookbook possible.

Heres to the next chapter of Twinkies. Dig in!

What makes Twinkies so special? Everyone has an answer.

If there were a lifetime achievement award for snack cakes, Twinkies would certainly set the gold standardnow more than ever.