Sunday, May 17, 2020

Welcome Kaye George Twinkies Recipe + book #giveaway

Today's guest, Kaye George, is sharing a recipe for a treat most of us remember from childhood: TWINKIES. The recipe comes from Revenge is Sweet, the first book in her Vintage Sweets mystery series. Please welcome Kaye. Be sure to scroll down and leave a comment to win a copy of Revenge is Sweet


I’m thrilled to be here at your kitchen! Let me warn you that I’m not a world-class cook, so this may not go as smoothly as one would like. My main character, Tally Holt, inherited a box of old-fashioned recipes from her grandmother, who liked to try to recreate favorites at home. This inspired her vintage sweet shop. Tally is a much better baker and maker than I am, but she doesn’t have time to do this, so I’m stepping up to give it a try.

I’m going to make the facsimile Twinkies from the first Vintage Sweets mystery, REVENGE IS SWEET. The first thing you should do is assemble your ingredients early. The butter, cream cheese, and Cool Whip need to be room temperature, so get everything out and let it sit.


Using a large mixing bowl, beat together the eggs and half of the butter.

Next, add water, pudding mix, and cake mix. 


NOTE: Because I was making this in Corona Time, I didn’t have exactly the ingredients I needed. I had almost all the butter for the first part and used some soft butter (1 tbsp) to make ½ cup. I also didn’t get the cake mix I wanted from Instacart, but this one is close.

You can see that the egg/butter mixture is, well, a bit lumpy. I would not advise using that kind of butter.




I used Pam and parchment on the jelly roll pans. I really did not want these to stick. And they didn’t! The crusts came out nice. I took them out after 15 minutes since the toothpick was clean when I tested.





Now you need to relax and let the layers cool, then make the filling. At this point, I knew I didn’t want to use the butter stuff I used before. I was all out of actual butter. But I had a giant tub of Smart Balance and look, it says on the side, it’s for baking. (This was the only size available when shopping at Kroger with Instacart I think it’s a lifetime supply. That expires next January.) It works great! This mixture came out nice and smooth, just like it should.



Next problem was sifting. Oh no, the powdered sugar is supposed to be sifted! I got out my sifter, which was probably last used in 2001 or 2002. It’s kinda rusty. But I have a big sieve sort of thing. If you put the sugar in it and stir, it comes out sifted.


I would recommend leaving some of this in the bowl to lick. It’s pretty good.

On to the next problem. Turns out, lifting the top onto the bottom, which has been spread with filling, is a two-person job. But, hey, we’re going to cut them anyway, right? Also, it didn’t stick, so the parchment paper worked.


Here are some cut pieces! Not beautiful, but good tasting.


For better instructions and very pretty pictures, I can highly recommend Kim Davis’s blog. Hers turned out much nicer, don’t you think?


Ingredients and Instructions-Make the cake portion first


4 eggs
1/2 cup butter

1 cup water
1 box of instant vanilla pudding mix
1 boxed yellow cake mix

Beat the eggs, add butter and mix well.
Add next three ingredients and stir well.
Batter will be thick.

Bake the cake portion
Grease and flour two 10x15 jelly roll pans
Pour half the batter in each prepared pan and spread.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Bake 15-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Cool on wire rack.

Next make the filling

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
5 cups confectioners' sugar

1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix butter and, cream cheese. Sift the confectioners sugar and add.
Beat well.
Add whipped topping and vanilla and stir.

Combine
After the cakes are cooled, spread the filling on one layer. Place the second layer on top.
Cut into bars.
If you don’t eat these right away, you can wrap them in plastic and store them in the freezer. They’re good cold!

Recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com by Tyler

Kaye George is a national-bestselling, multiple-award-winning author of pre-history, traditional, and cozy mysteries (her latest is the Vintage Sweets series from Lyrical Press). Her short stories have appeared online, in anthologies, magazines, her own collection, her own anthology, DAY OF THE DARK. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, Smoking Guns chapter (Knoxville), Guppies chapter, Authors Guild of TN, Knoxville Writers Group, and Austin Mystery Writers. She lives and works in Knoxville, TN.

Web page: http://kayegeorge.com/
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/kaye.george

You can get Revenge Is Sweet here, and preorder Deadly Sweet Tooth here.

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT WITH YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS BEFORE MAY 20TH FOR A CHANCE TO WIN AN AUTOGRAPHED PAPERBACK OF REVENGE IS SWEET





57 comments:

  1. Those twinkies look delicious, but I will probably be too lazy to make them. Good for you for trying with some make-do ingredients.
    browninggloria(at)hotmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for sharing the recipe, and this chance to win! areewekidding(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you for being my guest at Mystery Lovers' Kitchen, Kaye. When I was a day camp counselor as a teen, we had Hostess sweets for the children's afternoon snacks. They included Twinkies once or twice a week, but my favorites were the iced chocolate cupcakes and the chocolate cake mounds blanketed with a thick layer of pink marshmallow sprinkled with coconut.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Never tried making Twinkies before, but we all love them. Now with a great sounding (and pretty easy) recipe, I'm going to give it a try. Thanks!

    "Revenge is Sweet" has been on my TBR list since day one. Can't wait for the opportunity to read it. Definitely want to get in on the ground floor for this series.

    Thank you for the chance to win a copy! Shared and hoping to be the very fortunate one selected.

    Please be safe, stay healthy and along the way be adventerous and try out a new recipe along the way!
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

    ReplyDelete
  5. First of all thanks for showing the Oops in your baking. Now I don't feel so bad about the cake I made a couple of weeks ago. Thanks for the contest. Keeping my fingers crossed. ckmbeg (at) gmail (dot) com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're welcome. Always glad to be of service, in the baking comparison category. ;)

      Delete
  6. I love your Quarantine instructions! And I loved Twinkies as a child. The taste is much more important than the form. I'm so excited for this new series!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks so much for sharing the link to my blog, Kaye! Yours turned out really well, especially trying to improvise on the ingredients and I know they tasted oh so yummy! (I don't need to be entered in the contest since I already have a copy of your book.)

    ReplyDelete
  8. My brother will love this recipe - he's been a huge twinkie fan since he was a kid - thanks for the contest - trwilliams69(at)msn(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  9. These look yummy - yummily decadent, in fact! I would love to have the book! cbrusegar (at) aol (dot com)

    ReplyDelete
  10. What a delectable treat! Your book sounds wonderful. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  11. Looks like a good book. Nan-d(at) sbcglobal (dot) net

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thanks again, Maya, for asking me here! I'm for sure not the most accomplished baker to ever appear here. If you want to see what these should really look like, click over to Kim Davis' post--she knows what she's doing! Thanks for all the interest here, too! If anyone DOES make these and they turn out looking good, I'd love a picture.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Kudos on working around your corona limitations!
    libbydodd at comcast dot net

    ReplyDelete
  14. These look and must taste better than normal Twinkie's. Going to give the recipe a try.
    Kitten143 (at) Verizon (dot) net

    ReplyDelete
  15. These twinkies look fun & tasty. Revenge is Sweet looks fun, too.
    turtle6422 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thanks for the recipe!

    jtcgc at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  17. Revenge is Sweet sounds captivating. The twinkies are irresistible. elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  18. This might be the perfect recipe for sheltering in place. Twinkies used to be quite the popular thing around here. I love to cook but I'm not much on presentation - it's going be cut and in a few minutes it will be gone so what's the big deal, right? The book series sounds like fun. Thanks for the giveaway.
    sallycootie(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  19. This is an interesting concept. I remember the uproar when Twinkies disappeared for awhile. suefoster109 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  20. Thanks for the recipe. rmmoss2(@)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  21. I used to eat twinkies every day for lunch at school. Book sounds good.

    ReplyDelete
  22. I loved Twinkies as a kid! And they are still a guilty pleasure on rare occasions. I'm laughing at your trials and tribulations trying to follow a recipe with not quite the right things. I've done that so often it is a running gag in my household.
    patdupuy@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  23. I remember deciding between Hostess Cupcakes and Twinkies for packing lunch. :) HINT: They're VERY sweet, which you may like. But if you want them a little less so, then eat them cold from the fridge. I'm enjoying them that way. THANKS for all the interest! I posted this above, and I'll repeat it here--if you make these and they turn out looking good (or maybe even not!), shoot a pic to me at kayegeorge at gmail dot com, please! <3

    ReplyDelete
  24. Love Twinkies, thanks for the recipe! tWarner419@aol.com

    ReplyDelete
  25. That looks good! Smart idea to make your own, speaking from my brief experience working in a Hostess factory.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh dear, that doesn't sound good! It's better not to know the process, I'm sure.

      Delete
  26. They must be better for you than actual Twinkies. They look tasty. Thanks for the recipe. lkish77123 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, no preservatives. Plenty of carbs and sugar, though. I contend we NEED those things right now. (If our health lets us.)

      Delete
  27. I remember Twinkies! Oh, to be young and able to eat those treats again! Today, a better treat is reading a wonderful book!t
    Lisacobblestone(at)aol(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  28. I love Twinkies so I can't wait to try out this recipe. mgshepherd2003@yahoo.ca

    ReplyDelete
  29. I've never thought of making twinkled. I'm sure they're much better than the ones you buy. "Revenge Is Sweet" is on my TBR list and looking forward to reading the book. Thanks for the chance.
    diannekc8(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  30. My favorite treat Twinkies thank you for the recipe. I want to read your book.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Yum to the recipe and the book! Legallyblonde1961@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  32. Good luck to everyone who entered the contest! apryl.fox@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  33. Thanks for the chance to read your book! jeaniedannheim (at)ymail (dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  34. Ooh, I will give this recipe to my sweet neighbor who has roommates that would LOVE these (college kids!) (I'll get some too just for giving her the recipe.) She loves to bake but likes to try new recipes as she says her recipes are boring. (I love the samples so I just nod and shut my mouth!)
    teddi1961 (at) arcemont (dot) com

    ReplyDelete
  35. This looks like such a fun recipe, and I appreciate the advice to leave some filling in the bowl. I always leave some batter/frosting for eating out of the bowl. Congratulations on the new series! aut1063(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  36. I'm getting a kick out the comments about licking the bowl. Maybe all recipes should put that in! There are some interim bowls that should not be licked, so guidance is needed. Thank you for all of the interest and THANKS for the good wishes on the series, too!!

    ReplyDelete
  37. This is certainly an unusual dessert. I can see why it would be a hit! I enjoy reading cozy mysteries and would love to have Revenge Is Sweet!

    Nancy
    allibrary (at) aol (dot) com

    ReplyDelete
  38. Yummmmm.....just yummmmm.

    kaye,killgore(at)comcast(dot)net

    ReplyDelete
  39. Looks so good!! Thank you for sharing. Allwardt1987@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  40. Yum! I'll be making this, thanks for the recipe! nani_geplcs(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  41. Looks like a series I want to start reading! lindaherold999(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  42. Wow and wow again add some strawberries and away we go....yummy.You are amazing. Can't wait for my library to open....WRITE ON ..... BLESSINGS.

    ReplyDelete
  43. They look so yummy Kaye! Thanks for sharing.

    Congratulations on Revenge is Sweet. I look forward to reading it!

    ReplyDelete
  44. Twinkies were one of my father's favorite treats. Thank you for the recipe and the chance to enter the giveaway. robeader53(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  45. I love how so many of us know people who loved Twinkies, or still like them ourselves. Thanks for the enthusiasm! It is truly uplifting for me.

    ReplyDelete
  46. Twinkies were something that many years ago when i was in a foster home that was what we craved of course we would of craved anything as food was not around and they would take away your dinner priveges for about anything at 9 i was the cook for everyone so they didn't have to worry as i would sneak them food. Congrats on your new book can't wait to read a print copy and review . peggy clayton ptclayton2 at aol.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm so sorry about your experiences, Peggy. Congrats for surviving and thriving.

      Delete
  47. SORRY MY LINK ISN'T WORKING TO KIM DAVIS' PLACE. HERE'S A BETTER ONE: https://cinnamonsugarandalittlebitofmurder.com/twinkies/

    ReplyDelete
  48. I lived on Twinkies as a child. I would love to win a copy of your book.

    ReplyDelete
  49. Hi Kaye, it's so wonderful of you to do a giveaway, can't tell you how much it's appreciated! Your twinkie recipe sounds absolutely scrumptious. My mom is a baker and I will definitely be sharing this recipe for her to try out and let you know how it goes :)

    ReplyDelete
  50. THANKS, ALL! I love the replies here--hope you're all staying safe and reading a lot. We've picked a winner: GRANDMA COOTIE! I'll be mailing her book out as soon as my car is back from the shop. :'( Stay safe and happy reading!

    ReplyDelete