After weeks filled with fires, stabbings and even two homicides, residents of Kosciusko County have enjoyed a much more peaceful week in news. When not pushing through the daily mountain of news here at StaceyPageOnline.com, we took a moment to enjoy life’s simple pleasures and ask the big questions. Why is mankind here? Is there life on other planets? And most importantly, can anyone really replace the Twinkie?

Hostess Brands Inc., the 85-year-old maker of the iconic Twinkie, announced it’s closing in November of 2013. .
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On Nov. 12, the seemingly imperishable Twinkie met its end. Hostess Brands permanently closed three plants as a result of the work stoppage. On Nov. 14, the Company announced it would be forced to liquidate if sufficient employees did not return to work to restore normal operations by 5 p.m. Nov. 15. The company determined on the night of Nov. 15 that an insufficient number of employees had returned to work to enable the restoration of normal operations.

Though that fateful day left many hearts grieving the loss of a childhood, iconic treat, hope was not lost entirely. Many manufactures swooped in to save the day, creating look-alike treats to satiate hungry Twinkie fans across the country. But the real question remained, would these new treats be able to stand the test of taste? Stacey Page, editor and chief reporter of StaceyPageOnline.com decided to put them to the test.

Page, a self proclaimed Twinkie obsessor, sampled three different knock-offs of the original. Little Debbie® Cloud Cake™, Mrs. Freshley’s® Dreamies™ and WalMart’s Great Value® Golden Créme Cakes™ were among the contestants sampled. Though Page enjoyed all three cakes, she noted that one stood above the rest.

Little Debbie’s Cloud Cakes™ were the pronounced favorite of Stacey Page upon taste testing several other sponge cake options.
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“I prefer the Little Debbie Clouds over the other brands because they taste the most like Twinkies,” stated Page. “The Dreamies cakes were too heavy and void of a desirable amount of creamy filling. The cake of the Walmart brand was much lighter and better, but I thought the filling lacked flavor.”

Though Mrs. Freshley and Walmart’s cakes had their merits, ultimately, the closest resemblance to the Hostess favorite was the Little Debbie Cloud Cakes, which boasted the most flavor, best filling to cake ratio and lightest consistency.Though many may feel the  sponge cake has reached it’s peak of deliciousness, Page offers the following advice to Cloud Cake eaters.

“The Clouds had the perfect blend of sponge cake and sweet cream filling. It was light and airy with just enough sugar to please the palette without being overwhelming. But the best Clouds, are still frozen Clouds! If you haven’t tried them frozen, try them!”

Die hard Hostess fans do not fear, you will not have to settle for long. According to The New York Post, Hostess could soon be re-emerging on grocery store shelves. For 410 million dollars Apollo Global Management has obtained the rights to Twinkies, Ding Dongs, Sno Balls and other Hostess snack cakes. Sources state that Hostess fans could see their favorites back on store shelves by September.

Though the group has secured the rights to many of the more prominent treats, Hostess’s Drake line, which produces Devil Dogs, Funny Bones and Yodels were set to be auctioned today.