Twinkie the Kid

This is week two of GRANDson's summer vacation so he's beginning to get that look on his face. You know, the "I'm Bored" look. As long as we are on the water dragging him on the ski tube he's having fun, but Nana's house doesn't have Wii or Xbox. In fact we don't even have NetFlix coming in the mailbox every few days. All we have is an old Playstation that the kids have long since mastered and graduated from. We do have a toy box but it has the little kid stuff for Gavin's 3 year old cousin Ewan. Other than Legos, Monopoly, and Uno...Nana's house is just that...Grandmas.

But his Mom gave me heads up the other day on something he would LOVE to do! When we were at the grocery store I asked if he liked Twinkies. They eat pretty healthy most of the time, but this IS vacation and I AM Grandma! Stephanie said he had always wanted to try the Fried Twinkies like they have at fairs. So the box went in the shopping cart and then into the freezer for the next time I see "that face!"

Twinkies were not a food that was permitted into my house as a child. Mom had a serious aversion to any store bought cookie, pastry or snack. She would tell me that it had "no food value" and promptly dismiss it as junk. But I knew the truth, I had seen them at school when friends would open their lunchbox and take out the soft yellow cake, open the wrapper and the sweet vanilla smell would waft my way. I noticed when they took the first bite the extreme enjoyment from their smile. Just a little bit of the creamy inside would linger on their lips for a moment. I knew they had to be the most delicious, excellent confection ever invented...but that didn't change the fact that I was not getting one at my house, EVER. To tell you the truth, I don't remember the defining moment when I did have my first bite of a Twinkie. I just know that by the time it happened, I had lost the desire. It wasn't as golden, the filling wasn't as fluffy and overall it wasn't the ethereal treat I had expected after all. So before you reach the stage of life when the wide eyed amazement of childhood has passed, before you are too old to enjoy the simple pleasures of fried and sweet...I beg you to make this recipe.

I don’t care if you don’t like fatty sweets, or if you don’t eat empty calories. No one can resist the deep fried Twinkie. When the deep fried Twinkie was first introduced, The New York Times wrote this about it: “Something magical occurs when the pastry hits the hot oil. The creamy white vegetable shortening filling liquefies, impregnating the sponge cake with its luscious vanilla flavor… The cake itself softens and warms, nearly melting, contrasting with the crisp, deep-fried crust in a buttery and suave way.” They can't be wrong...

6 Hostess Twinkies®
Wooden Popsicle sticks ( I used wooden skewers)
4 cups vegetable oil
Flour
1 cup milk
2 Tbsp vinegar
1 Tbsp oil
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Freeze the Twinkies for several hours or overnight.

Preheat 4 cups oil in a deep fryer to 375 F.

Prepare a batter mixing 1 cup flour, milk, vinegar & oil. In another bowl, blend flour, baking powder & salt.

Whisk wet ingredients into dry & continue mixing until smooth. Refrigerate the batter while the oil reaches desired temperature.

Push sticks into Twinkies lengthwise, leaving about 2 inches to use as a handle, dust with the remaining flour & dip into the batter.

Rotate until batter covers the entire cake, allow excess to drip then place carefully in the hot oil.

The Twinkie will float, so hold it under with an extra stick or other utensil, to provide even browning. The cake should turn golden in 3 to 4 minutes.

Remove from oil & place on a paper towel to drain. Remove the stick & allow to sit for about 5 minutes. Serve warm.

SERVING TIPS: Serve Twinkie warm, it is not good cold, with your choice of topping. Try dusting with confectioners sugar or drizzle raspberry or chocolate sauce.

Gavin helped me make the Twinkies last night after dinner. He rolled the frozen Twinkies in flour....

Then we dipped them into the prepared batter...

We preheated oil in a deep pan to 375 F and carefully placed the coated Twinkie in the hot oil. It didn't take long to turn golden, then we removed it and placed on a paper towel to drain. We had to wait for it to cool 5 minutes, that was the hardest part!!!

We had made the raspberry sauce but next time we are going to try hot fudge topping!

Gavin got the first one and we waited to see if he liked it...

The anticipation of the first bite was almost too much...

And the results are in...he liked it!!!