Tag: Hostess

When I first laid eyes on Wintermint Ding Dongs and Mint Chocolate Twinkies, in a nearly-untouched display at Walmart, I was overwhelmed with gratitude. Maybe it was Thanksgiving looming around the corner or the sugar high I was pre-experiencing, but all I could think was how fortunate I am that someone somewhere started this snack food flavor arms race and I now have a legitimate excuse to eat Ding Dongs on a random Wednesday as a full grown adult. Thank you!

Right off the bat, I was drawn to the Ding Dongs. Firstly because that shade of blue in food is visually captivating, but also because I’d never tried a Ding Dong that wasn’t the standard chocolate/cream combo. Twinkies have been slinging the novelty flavors for ages now, so it’s less of a big deal.

The golden cake of the Wintermint Ding Dongs was exactly like the golden cake used in Hostess Cupcake variations – buttery, yellow, spongy with a finer texture than Twinkies’ cake. The white fudge exterior was familiar as well – a generic sugary white chocolate coating that gives the slightest snap when you bite into it. At first, I swore the wintermint creamy filling tasted like mint toothpaste. I wasn’t a fan.

I moved on to the Mint Chocolate Twinkies, which smelled and looked more like what I expected. It was made of the familiar cake you may have tasted in other chocolate Twinkie iterations – slightly greasy with a large crumb texture. Cocoa-heavy, but not dark chocolate. Here, the mint filling made more sense and felt more natural.

Then I started wondering if the color of the Ding Dongs was playing tricks on my mind. Was the freshly-squeezed-from-a-tube look making me imagine the corresponding flavor? I alternated nibbles of each cake’s filling and WHA’DYA KNOW, they actually tasted the same! I do think the cake flavors made a big difference, however – the chocolate cake rounded off the edges of the mint, giving it a less-synthetic feel. With the subtler golden cake, the mint was left to barge out in front, and its color didn’t help matters.

Overall, I thought they were both alright, but not Hostess’ best work.

You may have noticed the Try It Frozen!* on the front of the box. (I expected the * note found on the back to deny resemblance to a certain famous frosty film, but in fact, it helpfully clarifies that “Try It Frozen!” means place it in the freezer.) I did Try It Frozen, and I would not suggest you do the same. The cake fares well, but the wintermint creamy filling becomes and odd combination of too hard and too chewy.

Purchased Price: $2.79
Size: 10-cake box (Ding Dongs – 12.7 oz., Twinkies – 13.58 oz.)
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 5 out of 10 (Wintermint Ding Dongs), 6 out of 10 (Mint Chocolate Twinkies)
Nutrition Facts: (2 cakes) Wintermint Ding Dongs – 320 calories, 15 grams of fat, 10 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 15 milligrams of cholesterol, 170milligrams of sodium, 44 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 36 grams of sugar, 35 grams of added sugars and 2 grams of protein. Mint Chocolate Twinkies – 240 calories, 9 grams of fat, 4 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 15 milligrams of cholesterol, 300 milligrams of sodium, 41 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 26 grams of sugar, 26 grams of added sugars and 2 grams of protein.

What are Hostess Birthday CupCakes?

Hostess celebrates its centennial with a limited edition themed version of its iconic cupcake in a birthday variety. It’s a frosted speckled yellow cake with creamy filling complete with Hostess’ signature squiggle and tons of rainbow colored sprinkles.

How are they?

In some of my past reviews I have sometimes decreed something as a sugar bomb, but I need to rethink my definition because these things take the cake (and yes pun intended, of course). Between the squiggle, the sprinkles, the icing, and the cream on the inside, these were hard to eat and to be honest I had trouble finishing just one.

If there was more cake a la a regular Twinkie or a different flavor going on to break it all up, it wouldn’t be so bad. But sadly it’s just sugar on top of sugar on top of more sugar filled with sugar that overall tastes like sugar.

To be fair, I guess that’s what a tried a true birthday cake is but again with not enough of the cake part and in such a compact form it comes together as disappointing. The biggest offender though is the icing which has a little bit of vanilla flavor but is on the harder side and overall seems sort of stale. It reminds me of fondant which isn’t known to be delicious, but it makes up for it because it’s used to create insanely decorated cake masterpieces, of which these are not.

Is there anything else you need to know?

It’s not all birthday tears as there are some positives since the cake is sufficiently moist and Hostess didn’t skimp on the sprinkles, which are full size and represent every color of the rainbow.

Also, here’s some fun history about Hostess: Did you know the its cupcake was the first commercially produced one and it may have been the first snack cake ever introduced to the market? Although, rival Tastykake refutes this.

Conclusion:

I love snack cakes, birthday things, and all things Hostess, but these are not that good unless you have an extreme sweet tooth as they’re pretty one-note taste-wise. They’re festive with the colorful adornments, but it’s nothing mind-blowing (hello, Funfetti) that you need to see in person like those cool slime Ghostbusters Twinkies from years’ past.

If you want to celebrate Hostess’ birthday, pick up the O.G. chocolate ones and hum happy birthday as you indulge. There’s a reason they’ve lasted a century.

Purchased Price: $2.97
Size: 13.1 oz. box/8 count
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 3 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 cake) 190 calories, 9 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 10 milligrams of cholesterol, 90 milligrams of sodium, 27 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 23 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.