Air Fried Twinkies Are, Unfortunately, Good

TikTok is an endless source of food trends, some of which end up being palatable, like the cottage cheese ice cream my colleague Angela Pagán recently tried, or downright problematic, like when TikTok users start skirting with the concept of cultural appropriation. We prefer examining the culinary experiments, like this hack/fad involving an air fried Twinkie.

@morganchompz

have you ever tried an air fried twinkie? 👀 #twinkies #hostess #snackcake #airfryer #airfried #airfryerhack #foodhack #yellowcake #fairfood #viralfood #tastetest #snackreview #crispy #morganchomps

♬ original sound – Morgan Chomps

Users like @morganchompz have experimented with putting the classic Hostess snack cake in the air fryer, without much work involved aside from popping it in at 400 degrees F for a few minutes. The result is a toasty Twinkie with a dark exterior and an audibly loud crunch to it. After her first bite, @morganchompz gives the camera a wide-eyed look and swears by the experience, saying, "This is so good. I didn't expect there to be that much of a difference, but wow. I like that the outside is crispy and toasted, but it's not burnt-tasting. It really does give it like that fried factor."

She goes on to say that "The inside is just a little more melty and gooey. Who knew that three minutes in the air fryer could do all that?" Personally, I approach these things with a healthy dose of skepticism; I've noticed TikTok users tend to exaggerate their reactions for effect. But I thought — hey, it's a Twinkie, at least the barrier to entry is minimal. Could this actually be as good as social media says?

Some TikTok Twinkie air-frying techniques suggest that you should butter them before popping them into the handy countertop device (seriously, is there anything an air fryer can't do?). Since retail packs of Twinkies come in pairs, I figured I could mess around and butter one of them to see if there would be much of a difference.

I did note, however, that based on the oil residue left on my fingertips after handling the filled sponge cake fingers, Twinkies seem to have plenty of oil in them already, so I had my doubts as to whether or not this step was necessary. I mean, Twinkies are popular for a reason; their fat content probably has to do something with it. I popped the tray into my countertop oven (it doubles as an air fryer), which had already been preheating at the aforementioned 400 degrees, to see how they'd turn out.

As convenient as my countertop oven is, it's woefully underpowered when it comes to air frying, so instead of taking three minutes to toast, the Twinkies took around 10 with some very careful monitoring. This is a "me" problem, and one you might not have if you're trying this hack with a basket-style air fryer. I have one of those too, but it's currently tucked away due to lack of counter space. I've noticed that the fan in that one is quite powerful, so I have a feeling three minutes in one of those should do the trick, as long as it's sufficiently preheated (you should always preheat your air fryer before using it).

I noticed that the buttered Twinkie (pictured on the right), did come out with a more evenly burnished hue to it. When I handled both of them, they had formed a significantly crusty exterior, much like a piece of toast. Both had sprung a leak, however, with the filling pushing its way out on one side of each snack cake.

I sliced the Twinkies open and found that the filling had melted into a drippy goo. They'd spent so much time in the oven that the heat had penetrated their core, melting the normally fluffy stuff and turning it runny. Once they'd cooled off enough, I took a bite, and I have to begrudgingly admit — they were excellent. Their exterior became a perfectly toasted shell while the sponge cake inside remained springy, and the presence of the now-liquid filling changed the experience from a regular Twinkie into something new. 

Maybe it's because I haven't had a Twinkie in a long time, but I'll note that they were cloyingly sweet. And buttering them also seems to be wholly unnecessary. Though the butter helped the Twinkie brown more evenly, it also made the entire thing unappealingly greasy. If you're going to try this at least once, which I recommend, you can skip the butter, as the oil contained within the Twinkie allows it to toast up just fine on its own. 

These air fried Twinkies feel like a throwback to the deep-fried ones I've seen at the fair, sans the wet batter involved when they're deep-fried. If you add a little sprinkling of powdered sugar, a drizzle of chocolate syrup, and a small scoop of ice cream on your air fried version (along with some fresh fruit, to make it, uh, healthy), you'll have an easy dessert done in about 10 minutes. I can't believe I'm saying this, but this might actually be a TikTok hack I'll practice at home. Weird, too, because I've never wanted to go out of my way to buy a Twinkie. Until now.