Chocolate Covered Birthday Twinkies

It's my friend Kelly's birthday and she has been wanting me to make these for her since I mentioned them this summer.  So today, because it's her birthday, because she is special and I love her, I made up a batch of birthday Twinkies.

I discovered these this summer when one of my Facebook friends posted something about going to a local snow cone stand to get a frozen chocolate covered Twinkie.  Since her local is not my local, and since I was about 6 months pregnant at the time, naturally I sprinted out the door and went to pick up all the ingredients to make them for myself immediately.  And I've been a fan ever since.

Really, any recipe that involves a Twinkie I am probably going to be a fan of.

Only 2 necessary ingredients:  Twinkies (or "Golden Creme Cakes" if you are fancy like me and buy anything that says "Great Value" on the box) and almond bark.  Sprinkles if you want them to look purdy.

Now, this is the key to success:  corn cob holders.  Otherwise, you'll have a big mess.  A box of these little doodads costs about $3 at Wal-Mart.  Even if you never eat corn on the cob, they are worth the investment for dipping things in chocolate.

Line a baking sheet with wax paper, unwrap the Twinkies and lay them out on the sheet.  Pop them in the freezer for about 30 minutes to firm them up.

Meanwhile, melt the almond bark according to the package directions.

Once the Twinkies are nice and firm, spear each end with a corn cob holder and roll it around in the melted chocolate like you would a rolling pin (sorry no picture because it takes two hands to roll, but just imagine this little Twinkie rolling around in the chocolate).

Put it back on the sheet pan and remove the corn cob holders.  At this point you should add your sprinkles because the chocolate hardens pretty fast.  I didn't realize this though until it was too late so I had to do a little patchwork on the white ones :P

You can use a spoon to dab the edges with chocolate where the corn cob holders were.

And that's it!  Store them in the freezer and take them out about 5 minutes before you're ready to eat them.  These are awesome in the summertime when it's hot outside.  But really, they are awesome any time of year.

Sorry Kelly, I had to taste one and make sure it wasn't poisonous or anything ;)