Fried Twinkies

Fried TwinkiesGrowing up I was never a fan of Twinkies. They always just tasted way too sweet and way too overly processed.

Plus, despite the fact that Hostess — the company that makes Twinkies —  claims that they only have a shelf life of 45 days — which in itself is a pretty long time — we’ve all heard the rumors of Twinkies basically lasting forever and still tasting exactly the same right?. Even as a kid it just seemed to me like that shouldn’t be normal.

Then, in my early teens I had a fried Twinkie at the Wisconsin State Fair and I was hooked! I’m not sure what it is about dipping them in batter, frying them and dipping them in strawberry jam, but it completely changed my view on Twinkies. It’s almost like the extra bit of breading balances the sweet with a little more of a savory taste.

Ingredients:

  • Twinkies
  • Pancake mix
  • Milk
  • Egg
  • Vegetable oil
  • Powdered sugar
  • Strawberry jam or your preferred dipping sauce

How to make fried Twinkies:

  • Freeze Twinkies for at least 2 hours prior to frying.
  • Heat oil in deep fryer or heavy skillet to 375°F.
  • In a bowl, combine pancake mix, milk, egg and vegetable oil and stir to combine.
  • One by one, insert sticks into frozen Twinkies, dip them in the batter and transfer them to the oil.
  • Fry in batches for 2 minutes or until golden brown.
  • Drain fried Twinkies on paper towels, top with powdered sugar and serve with strawberry jam or your preferred dipping sauce.

Fried Twinkies

Can I make fried Twinkies without a deep fryer?

You sure can! If you don’t have a deep fryer just fill a heavy skillet with a few inches of oil and you can deep fry Twinkies right on your stovetop!

Can I make fried Twinkies in an air fryer?

I wouldn’t recommend it. If you don’t have a deep fryer I’d just use a heavy skillet on the stovetop like I mentioned above.

If you’re dead set on making fried Twinkies in in air fryer though, I’d probably try frying them for 6 minutes or so at 375°F. If you give it a try you’ll want to make sure that you line your air fryer basket with parchment paper though or it’s going to get pretty messy. 

How long do fried Twinkies last?

Fried Twinkies taste the best shortly after being removed from the fryer. They can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and re-heated, but at that point the breading starts to get a bit chewy and they don’t taste quite as good. With how quick and easy deep fried Twinkies are to make you might as well just make a fresh batch whenever you want some.

Tips for making fried Twinkies at home:

  • Insert corn dog sticks, chopsticks or popsicle sticks into your Twinkies before you dip them in the batter so you can get a nice even coating of batter on your Twinkies.
  • If you’d like a thicker batter just add one tablespoon of pancake mix at a time until it’s as thick as you want it. Alternatively, if you want a thinner batter just add one tablespoon of milk at a time to thin it out.
  • If your batter isn’t sticking to the Twinkies as much as you’d like try coating the Twinkies in flour first.
  • Keep your Twinkies completely submerged in the oil while they’re frying with either a spoon or your deep fryer basket to get a nice even golden brown breading on them.

More fair and festival foods that you can make at home:

Fried Twinkies

Fried Twinkies Recipe

Nick @ DudeFoods.com

Deep fried Twinkies are a festival favorite, but if you can't make it out to the fair just follow this super easy recipe to make them at home!

5 from 1 vote

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes

Course Dessert
Cuisine American

Servings 6

Ingredients

  

  • 6 Twinkies
  • 2 quarts oil for frying
  • 1 3/4 cups pancake mix
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • powdered sugar
  • strawberry jam for dipping

Instructions

 

  • Freeze Twinkies for at least 2 hours prior to frying.
  • Heat oil in deep fryer or heavy skillet to 375°F.
  • In a bowl, combine pancake mix, milk, egg and vegetable oil and stir to combine.
  • One by one, insert sticks into frozen Twinkies, dip them in the batter and transfer them to the oil.
  • Fry in batches for 2 minutes or until golden brown.
  • Drain fried Twinkies on paper towels, top with powdered sugar and serve with strawberry jam or your preferred dipping sauce.

Keyword deep fried food, desserts

2 Comments on Fried Twinkies

  1. Niagpoglaiblaus Tsistxintxiajkiagli
    October 12, 2020 at 3:57 pm (3 years ago)

    5 stars
    Nice. My nephew will probably be making this often. Do you use some kind of recipe generator? All fields already considered and just input ingredients?

    Reply
    • Nick
      October 14, 2020 at 10:39 am (3 years ago)

      Yeah, it’s just a WordPress recipe plugin where you type up the ingredients and directions.

      Reply

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