Homemade Twinkies | High Protein & Gluten Free (+ Rainbow!)

Medically reviewed by Abbey Sharp, Registered Dietitian (RD), BASc.

These Homemade Twinkies with Strawberry Protein Cream Filling are the better-for-you version of everyones beloved childhood treat!

Okay, raise your hand if your parents had no qualms about putting a daily pack of Twinkies in your lunch? I feel like parents today are so anxious about food and nutrition they wouldn’t DREAM of sending any of that “toxic” “garbage” to school with their kids, but HEY, we all turned out pretty okay. Any treat in moderation is A-OK, but why not make them at home so you can control the quality of the ingredients AND add sprinkles?! Sprinkles make EVERYTHING better. Hello, my beloved Homemade Twinkies with Strawberry Protein Cream Filling. I definitely don’t have to be a kid to want to inhale you.

Why This Recipe Works

I love how these homemade twinkies are still sweet, flavorful, and delicious, just like the original Twinkies. I also love this recipe because it’s

• High in protein- 4 grams per Twinkie
• Family friendly – easy way to get kids to help out in the kitchen too!
• Gluten Free – perfect for those with dietary restrictions
• Super easy to make – less than 10 steps!

Key Ingredients

Greek Yogurt- greek yogurt is PACKED with protein, which what makes these homemade twinkies protein rich. Greek yogurt on it’s own has a pretty sour taste, but with all the ingredients combined it tastes just like regular yogurt.

Coconut Flour – The batter is completely gluten free so I use coconut flour as my base for these homemade twinkies. While it can be a bit tempermental, and requires more eggs and moisture to make it work, I like it because it’s really rich in satiating fibre. To lighten mine up without too much sugar or fat, I add unsweetened apple sauce and protein-rich Greek yogurt.

Strawberry Cream Cheese – This is used for the yummy filling of our homemade twinkies. You can also play around with other sweet flavors to used as filling if you can find it at your local grocery store.

How To Make This Recipe

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 F and spritz two twinkie silicon pans with cooking spray. Set them on top of baking sheets.

Step 2: In a medium bowl, mix together the coconut flour, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, mix together the honey, apple sauce, almond milk, yogurt, whole eggs and vanilla. Finally, in one more bowl, beat the egg whites until they reach a soft peak consistency.

Step 3: Add the wet to the dry, then once combined, fold a bit of the whipped egg whites to the mixture to just incorporate. Then fold the rest of the egg whites in, along with 1 teaspoon of the sprinkles.

Step 4: Sprinkle the remaining sprinkles onto the bottom of the twinkie molds, then fill about 2/3 of the way with the batter. Bake for 30 minutes.

Step 5: Grease the baking sheets and then carefully unmold the twinkies onto the baking sheets, rounded side up. Bake for an additional 7-10 minutes until just lightly golden brown. Cool completely. Meanwhile, mix together the yogurt, cream cheese and sprinkles and transfer to a piping bag with a star tip.

Step 6: Once the homemade twinkies are cool, carefully insert the tip into the bottom of the twinkies in a few places and fill with the yogurt cream cheese. Enjoy!

Expert Tips

As mentioned above, these homemade twinkies are surprisingly easy but it does require you to have a Twinkies silicon pan. I ordered mine on Amazon for legit like $12 but if you don’t have one, you can easily use a mini muffin tin. No biggie.

Oh and we can’t forget our RAINBOW factor!! You have two options. You can fold them in if you like a streaky rainbow look, or you can sprinkle the bottom of the twinkies pan with sprinkles before you add your batter so you get a big rainbow patch at the top. Either way, it’s colourful and fun and that’s what we all love about these Homemade Twinkies.

Recipe FAQs

More Recipes You Might Like

Looking for other family friendly snack/dessert ideas like these homemade twinkies? Definitely check out some of my favorites below!

• BANANA AND PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE BARS (VEGAN & GLUTEN FREE)
• HEALTHY TWIX BARS
• HOMEMADE SNICKERS BARS
• HEALTHY DIRT CUPS

So, mommas, tell me- would you put THESE Homemade Twinkies in your kids lunches without a worry? Did you grow up eating twinkies? Leave me a comment below about your twinkie memories!!

Homemade Twinkies | High Protein & Gluten Free (+ Rainbow!)

These Homemade Twinkies with Strawberry Protein Cream Filling are the better-for-you version of everyones beloved childhood treat!

4.84 from 6 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes minutes

Servings: 18 twinkies

Calories: 86kcal

Author: Abbey Sharp

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 cup coconut flour
• ▢ 2 tsp gluten free baking powder
• ▢ 1/8 tsp salt
• ▢ 1/4 cup honey
• ▢ 3/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
• ▢ 1/2 cup plain 2-4% Greek yogurt
• ▢ 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• ▢ 2 tsp vanilla
• ▢ 3 whole eggs
• ▢ 4 egg whites
• ▢ 2 tsp rainbow sprinkles

Filling:

• ▢ 1/2 cup  plain 2-4% Greek yogurt
• ▢ 6 tbsp light strawberry cream cheese
• ▢ 2 tsp rainbow sprinkles

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 F and spritz two twinkie silicon pans with cooking spray. Set them on top of baking sheets.
• In a medium bowl, mix together the coconut flour, baking powder and salt.
• In another bowl, mix together the honey, apple sauce, almond milk, yogurt, whole eggs and vanilla.
• Finally, in one more bowl, beat the egg whites until they reach a soft peak consistency.
• Add the wet to the dry, then once combined, fold a bit of the whipped egg whites to the mixture to just incorporate. Then fold the rest of the egg whites in, along with 1 teaspoon of the sprinkles.
• Sprinkle the remaining sprinkles onto the bottom of the twinkie molds, then fill about 2/3 of the way with the batter. Bake for 30 minutes.
• Grease the baking sheets and then carefully unmold the twinkies onto the baking sheets, rounded side up. Bake for an additional 7-10 minutes until just lightly golden brown. Cool completely.
• Meanwhile, mix together the yogurt, cream cheese and sprinkles and transfer to a piping bag with a star tip.
• Once the twinkies are cool, carefully insert the tip into the bottom of the twinkies in a few places and fill with the yogurt cream cheese. Enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 86kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.004g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 84mg | Potassium: 106mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 71IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 54mg | Iron: 0.4mg

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Abbey Sharp

Abbey Sharp is a Registered Dietitian (RD), regulated by the Ontario College of Dietitians. She is a mom, YouTuber, Blogger, award winning cookbook author, media coach specializing in food and nutrition influencers, and a frequent contributor to national publications like Healthline and on national broadcast TV shows.