November 20, 2012

Hostess, I hardly knew you.

Growing up in the 70s with a healthy obsession with comic books, I was no stranger to the ads for Hostess products. Twinkies, Snowballs, fruit pies, and the chocolate cupcakes (with their iconic squiggle of icing) were everywhere - even in ads disguised as comic strips. It was brilliant advertising; how could you not want the same treats enjoyed by your favourite superheroes and the gang from Riverdale?



The problem was, we didn't have them up here in Canada. And, if we had anything similar, I wasn't allowed to have them. All I could do was imagine the wonderful, sugary goodness and hope that one day, on a trip to the States, I would be able to catch my parents in a moment of weakness and finally get to try a much-coveted treat. 

Even though we took many car-trips to the US and stopped at countless gas stations and supermarkets, I never once had a Hostess treat. It's not that we didn't eat junk food; it's just that we didn't eat *that* junk food. Even today, at 40 years and 3 months old, I have never had a real* Hostess Twinkie, Sno Ball, Cupcake or Fruit Pie. 

So, with the recent news of Hostess' bankruptcy, I kinda feel like I've lost a little imaginary piece of my childhood. It's not that I loved Twinkies et al, I just loved the idea of them. Kinda like how I coveted Sea Monkeys, all the while knowing that I would never have any.

If you are like me and didn't get to try a Hostess treat before the curtain came down, or if you have eaten them all your life and loved them, check out my friend Annie's baking blog, With Sprinkles on Top. She has recipes for look- and taste-alikes of all the Hostess favourites. The pink Sno Balls look amazeballs!


*There was the time that I used the McSweeny's "cream filled cakes" to make dessert sushi for the Mascot's birthday, but I don't recall if I tasted them or not...

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