Mmmm....Twinkies

The News 3 This Morning crews chows
WSIL TV

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

After an eight month hiatus, Twinkies and other popular Hostess snack cakes have returned to store shelves.  To celebrate the occasion, we feasted on the spongy, cream filled cakes live on the news today.  The freshly made treats have a shelf life of 45 days now, I had always thought Twinkies are like diamonds and are forever, but apparently they're not.

Deep fried goodness

I'll admit, since cutting back on sweets, I don't eat a whole lot of Hostess snacks or other treats in general.  I had my last Twinkie back in August at the Du Quoin State Fair, but it was the deep fried variety, topped with powdered sugar.  Hardly healthy, but I always maintain that snacks like these are okay in moderation.

The re-release of Twinkies brings a few changes too.  A serving size is actually two cakes.  They have 270 calories and 33 grams of sugar per serving.  That's 135 calories per cake, down 15 calories from the old version. So if you can limit yourself to one, it's not horrible.  I did run just over two miles today to more than make up for the one-and-a-half Twinkies I ate during the show.

When I was in second grade we went to the Hostess plant in St. Louis.  During the visit, we got a variety of snack cakes that day.  One of the few things I remember about the trip was eating so much and puking when we got back to school.  You'd think that might have deterred me from having them later in life, but it did not.

Twinkie the Kid & my kids

In high school, I worked in a grocery store and had my eye on the Twinkie the Kid cut out display.  One of my friends claimed it before I could, but when I went away to college, he gave it to me.  It was a kitschy piece that often sparked a conversation.  Twinkie stayed with me all through college, but ended up in my parents attic when I got married.  When my wife and I bought a house, Twinkie came out of hibernation, but unfortunately the wife did not approve and a short time later, he became a memory.  Before I said my goodbyes though, I snapped a pic with my two sons, who were little guys at the time.

While I like Twinkies, my favorite Hostess snack is the Chocodile.  It's basically a chocolate covered Twinkie, but I haven't had one of them in years.  The actual chocolate Twinkie, which was out for a brief period of time, was also a favorite.  In high school, I ate a package of cupcakes every day at lunch.  When I'd take a break at the grocery store I worked at, it usually included a Strawberry Fruit Pie, Ho Hos or Ding Dongs.  So many great memories tied to a tasty little snack.