HOSTESS WITH THE MOSTEST?

I have a confession. I love me some Hostess snack cakes. Maybe it’s because I used to love the commercial with the referee calling plays with various Hostess goodies. “There’s a fruit pie on the field.” Anyone…anyone?

Maybe it’s my love affair with the delicious creamy center, some cross between whipped cream, frosting, and marshmallow fluff. I’ve tried to recreate it, met with abysmal failure, much to my dismay.

Maybe it’s the comforting thought that if I were to survive a nuclear holocaust, I know my Twinkies will be right there with me.

So when Hostess announced their 100 Calorie offering, the angels sang from above and visions of fat free crème filling danced in my head. Now, I’ll be the first to admit 100 calorie packs should not be confused with diet food. They are significantly marked up, portion control packs of things you should consume sparingly. Plain and simple, these are snacks. And most of the time, the portion sizes are a joke (I’m talking to you Entenmann’s and Little Debbie…you break my heart) But when I saw that Hostess had come out with 100 Calorie pack mini-cupcakes, well, all bets were off. Three cute cupcakes per package complete with creamy center. 100 calories. 5 grams of fiber. BTW, that’s a value of 1 if you happen to be following a nationally recognized weight loss plan that doesn’t support this site or the consumption of cupcakes in general. I seriously thought my prayers had been answered.

Until….

Go to your purse or wallet or change jar and dig out 9 quarters. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

Ok, now stack three quarters each into 3 piles. People, each cupcake is the size of each quarter stack! I am not lying. And for a serious eater like me, it took me all of 10 seconds to wolf those down. Oh sure, I could savor the cakes, enjoying the cute 1/8 teaspoon of creamy goodness inside. But then I would have time to contemplate the lack of white curly swirl indicative of Hostess Cupcakes. And then I would just be mad and eat more.

And I have to admit, these cakes were a bit dry. Maybe since they bumped up the fiber, it made the cake a different consistency and not so chocolaty. I had to get a second glass of skim milk to wash them down. Good for my bones, but not worth it for 3 measly dessert cakes.

I’m told that the best ones are actually the carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. And that may be true. But for $3.77 for a box of 6, I can’t say it was worth my money to even try again. Personally, I’d rather just enjoy the real thing and tack an extra 30 minutes onto my workout….if I worked out.

5 sprinkles out of 10, but only because they are 1 point per 3.

Reviewed by Madame Buttercream