Thanks to advancements in culinary technology and human ingenuity, transforming crowd-favorite treats into deep-fried desserts has never been easier. Nearly anything is possible, from deep-fried Oreos to deep-fried butter.
However, the unofficial king of deep-fried delicacies has always been the Twinkie. It’s hard to believe that anything can improve the spongy, creamy goodness of the confectionary classic, but something as simple as wrapping a Twinkie in batter and popping it in a pan of oil for several minutes can make a huge difference – not simply in calories but, importantly, in satisfaction.
Prepping the Ingredients
The great news is that fried Twinkies aren’t rocket science, so anyone can accomplish them with a few simple ingredients, most likely ingredients that are already lying around in the kitchen. Before frying the Twinkies, let them hang out in the freezer for a while. The high temperature of the oil will burn the sponge cake and cause the cream filling to become too liquidy if they are deep fried at room temperature, so put them in at least a couple of hours beforehand. Remember to put toothpicks or popsicle sticks into one end of the Twinkies before they freeze and become too hard.
While your Twinkies are getting good and icy, prep the pancake batter that you will use to coat them. Any boxed mix will do just fine, but if you don’t have premade mix readily available, just whisk together two eggs, 1/2 cup of plain flour, a splash of milk and a tablespoon of vegetable oil. Speaking of oil, you’re going to want to leave the bottle out because the saucepan used to fry the Twinkies will need about 4 to 5 cups of it.
You can also pop your batter into the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before frying for the best results.
How to Make Deep-Fried Twinkies
Using a thermometer to gauge, heat 4 to 5 cups of oil in your pan to between 365 and 375 degrees Fahrenheit, ensuring that the oil doesn’t exceed 375 degrees. You can eyeball the amount and decide if your particular pan will require more or less to submerge a Twinkie.
Grab your frozen Twinkies out of the freezer and holding the inserted stick, dunk each in the premade batter, coating it evenly. Use tongs to place the Twinkies into the oil a couple at a time, turning them over every 30 seconds or so for about four minutes, until they’re golden brown all over.
If you’re having trouble with the Twinkies floating around in the oil, hold them in place with the tongs until they’re done. When they’ve finished, place them on a plate covered with a paper towel so the oil can drain.
The Finishing Touches
Once your deep-fried Twinkies have cooled down, have been drained of excess oil and are ready to be chowed, you can do myriad things to amp up the experience. Keep it simple and dust them lightly with powdered sugar, drench them in maple syrup to bring out the pancake undertones, pair them with a bowl of vanilla ice cream or dip them in a homemade glaze.
To make a simple, Krispy-Kreme-worthy glaze, mix 1 cup of powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons of milk and let it sit and thicken for five to 10 minutes.
References
Writer Bio
Katherine is a journalist who has been based off-and-on in Nashville, New York, London and Barcelona for the past five years. During this time, she has written about travel, culture, health, lifestyle and cuisine for the likes of American Profile, Spry Living and Relish and covers entertainment and human interest stories for People magazine. She’s currently based in London and spends her time traveling the world and writing stories about it while working away at her first book.