TikTok is an endless source of food trends, some of which end up being palatable, like my colleague Angela Pagán recently tried, or downright problematic, like when . We prefer examining the culinary experiments, like this hack/fad involving an air fried Twinkie. Users like 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? How to air fry Twinkies Some TikTok Twinkie air-frying techniques suggest that you should butter them before popping them into the handy countertop device (seriously, ).
Since retail packs of Twinkies come in pairs, I figured I could mess.