I’ve been on a quest this week for gluten-free, dairy-free healthy Twinkies and after several attempts (make that 7) I seem to have come up with a good approximation of this infamous Hostess treat.
Whenever the subject of Twinkies comes up in our house a certain Twinkie vandalism story is told (of which I was not a part!). My husband likes to talk about the time (in his college days) when he and a buddy were coming home from a night out. His friend had the munchies and procured a Twinkie. Apparently his friend was feeling artistic/vandalistic/Keith Harringesque, and using his Twinkie wrote the initials “JS + NA” inside a heart on the outside wall of a building on campus.
Fast forward a decade and a half to their 15th college reunion. The initials written in Twinkie were still there 15 years later.
Gluten-Free Twinkies
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs, separated
- ¼ cup grapeseed oil or palm shortening
- ¼ cup agave nectar or honey
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 6 tablespoons coconut flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whip egg whites to stiff peaks, then set aside
- In a medium bowl, whip egg yolks until pale yellow, then whip in grapeseed oil and agave
- Whip vanilla and lemon juice into egg yolk mixture
- In a medium bowl combine coconut flour, baking soda and salt
- Blend flour mixture into egg yolk mixture, then whip ingredients together until smooth
- Gently fold egg whites into yolk-flour mixture
- Spoon batter into Twinkie molds until they are half full (you will get 8 Twinkies)
- Bake at 350°F for 11-12 minutes
- Remove from oven and allow Twinkies to cool
Dairy-Free Twinkie Filling
Ingredients
- 2 egg whites
- ¼ cup agave nectar or honey
Instructions
- Whip egg whites to stiff peaks
- Blend in agave and re-whip until stiff peaks form again
- Place filling in Twinkie filling injector
- Place cooled Twinkie flat side up and inject filling into Twinkie in 3 spots on its flat (bottom) side
- Serve
Yes, this filling recipe includes raw egg whites and yes, my family and I eat raw egg on a fairly regular basis. If that’s not your thing, then you could fill the Twinkies with agave sweetened whip cream, which I think would taste delicious.
Be sure to fill your Twinkies just before eating. Why? The sponginess of the Twinkie cakes quickly absorbs the filling. When I left mine over night, all of the filling was absorbed into the cake.
Disclaimer: it is challenging to get a ton of filling into the Twinkie. If you are striving to obtain the amount of filling in the photo above, please don’t. That photo is food-styled (by me) with extra Twinkie cream. In any event, happy Twinkie time!
…And now for the winner of last weeks Friday Freebie (an Elana’s Pantry tote bag made of 100% recycled cotton)…merav! Congratulations!
Arianne says
I am making these this weekend, I have a bunch of friends, twinkle savvy friends to friends with celiac. They will be the true taste testers. I love meringues don’t care if the egg white peaks are raw!
Elana says
Thanks Arianne :-)
Jess says
Any tips for making without eggs?
Elana says
Jess, I haven’t tried that so not sure. Here’s a link to my Egg-Free Recipes page for you:
https://elanaspantry.com/diets/egg-free/
Enjoy!
Elana
Tamara says
I think I will try them with a coconut cream filling..because it can never have too much coconut flavor. Yum!
Karen says
Do you think subbing the grapeseed oil for melted coconut oil would alter the flavor? I don’t have any on hand and man my hubby would flip if I made these today :) And what about the agave, would it be all right to substitute with honey?
Karen says
Do you think subbing the grapeseed oil for melted coconut oil would alter the flavor? I don’t have any on hand and man my hubby would flip if I made these today :)