Peppermint Twinkies and Holiday Cupcakes

The things we do for your amusement. Seriously, I have a soft spot for Hostess Cupcakes and will occasionally treat myself. These special holiday pastries are... less of a treat.

Do you like sugar? I mean, REALLY like sugar? These are at least a cheap source.

The boxes were both fine, if generic. Both adequately conveyed the "holiday" aesthetic, although I'm still trying to scrub the cupcake mascot from my brain.

The Twinkies are pretty - a nice dark red color. They look moist and sweet, and I was intrigued by the promise of peppermint.

Unfortunately, the peppermint was more of a hint than a full flavor. Mostly the cake still just tasted of the corn syrup/imitation vanilla that is characteristic of mass-produced cake.

I also found it slightly disturbing that the case felt slightly greasy in my fingers, yet dry in my mouth.

I mean, I still ate it, but it concerned me.

The cupcakes were even more of a straight sugar-shot to the arteries. The cake was heavier on that "vanilla" I mentioned earlier, although the consistency was more pleasant. Unfortunately, any vanilla version of a Hostess Cupcake is really missing the point.

The icing also seemed a little stale to me. This was odd because we got (and tried) these the first time we saw them on shelves this year. It might just be that the vanilla icing is stiffer than the chocolate that I'm used to.

Overall, while these weren't terrible by a long shot, they also weren't all that good. Most disappointingly, none of the "holiday" changes were for the better. Just get a candy bar instead.