# What did they do to Hostess Fruit Pies?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-they-do-to-hostess-fruit-pies/520181
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [December 6, 2009, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-they-do-to-hostess-fruit-pies/520181 "2009-12-06T08:25:24Z")
**Posts on this page:** 12
**Page:** 3
### Author:  [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)
#### Post date: [August 14, 2020, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-they-do-to-hostess-fruit-pies/520181/41 "2020-08-14T16:41:11Z")
> [@hogarth](#):
>
> > [@terentii](#):
> >
> > Actually, I haven’t had any kind of Hostess-style fruit pie in decades. I can’t seem to find them in Canada.
>
> Would you settle for a Passion Flakie?
Haven’t tried those yet, but Half-Moons are a reasonable facsimile of Banana Flips (remember those)?
I agree about the new version of Ding-Dongs (“Dong-Dongs”?). They suck.
The frosted chocolate cupcakes are okay, but I swear they’re at least 30% smaller than the ones I remember from when I was growing up.
I miss Snowballs, too. Both plain and with strawberry marshmallow coating.
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### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [August 14, 2020, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-they-do-to-hostess-fruit-pies/520181/42 "2020-08-14T18:12:33Z")
I tried the Orange Hostess Cupcakes. There wasn’t much taste.
I used to buy them regularly. They just aren’t worth the calories any more. I rather buy something that will satisfy my craving for sweets.
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### Author:  [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)
#### Post date: [August 14, 2020, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-they-do-to-hostess-fruit-pies/520181/43 "2020-08-14T19:41:16Z")
> [@Yorikke](#):
>
> The Save-Mart grocery stores near where I used to live (Visalia, Central CA) used to sell something called a Home Run Pie. They were, IIRC, always 4 for a dollar, a bit smaller than Hostess, and filled completely with filling. Great for the price.
>
> Joe
I’m a bit further up north in ca …Do they still make those? remember those were 4 for a buck while the hostess ones were a buck apiece n the store we ate those once or twice a day sometimes … I found an address for a company that owns the “California pie company”
> **[HORIZON SNACK FOODS OF CALIFORNIA, INC - Livermore, California](https://www.cityfos.com/company/HORIZON-SNACK-FOODS-in-LIVERMORE-CA-208551.htm)**
>
> Our business is Snack Pies,Fruit Pies,Frozen Snack Pies,Fresh Fruit Pies,Fresh Snack Pies,Frozen Fruit Pies,Private Lable Snack Pies,Horizon Snack Foods,Horizon Pies,Home Run Pies,All-american Pies,Cutie Pie,California Pie Company. We located at...
h
ere’s a pic of one :[http://www.baseballrelated.com/images05/other/homerunpie.jpg](http://www.baseballrelated.com/images05/other/homerunpie.jpg)
I remember those were 4 for a buck while the hostess ones were a buck apiece n the store we ate those once or twice a day sometimes …
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### Author:  [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)
#### Post date: [August 14, 2020, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-they-do-to-hostess-fruit-pies/520181/44 "2020-08-14T20:11:28Z")
actually little debbie made a orange cupcake that while smaller tasted better that hostess how ever theres an orange flavored twinkie thats pretty good … who knows for how long tho
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### Author:  [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)
#### Post date: [August 15, 2020, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-they-do-to-hostess-fruit-pies/520181/45 "2020-08-15T01:35:33Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#):
>
> To Hell with Hostess, you want [Tastykake pies](https://www.tastykake.com/pies). The baked ones in the little boxes are _zehr gut_ ; the glazed ones are a tad sweet.
Can you check the ingredient list for palm/coconut as the shortening for me, the website doesn’t seem to show any ingredient list - it is a sensitivity of mine and as I am not scheduled for a sigmoidoscopy for another couple months, I won’t be buying one online and potentially wasting my money on something I can only eat when I am doing a bowel prep [hey, if I am going to have the shits, I might as well eat something that I like that now has palm/coconut as an ingredient!]
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### Author:  [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)
#### Post date: [August 15, 2020, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-they-do-to-hostess-fruit-pies/520181/46 "2020-08-15T02:10:26Z")
^ My pleasure; it seems they use palm oil and sometimes soybean oil for shortening–at least for the pies. If you go to the Walmart website and type in the different types of pies, there’s an ingredients list near the bottom of the listing, like [this](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Tastykake-Apple-Pie-4-oz-Box/15580408). As for your bracketed comment above, I’d keep that away from the Tastykake advertising department, if you know what I mean. 😉
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### Author:  [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)
#### Post date: [August 15, 2020, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-they-do-to-hostess-fruit-pies/520181/47 "2020-08-15T06:20:24Z")
> [@The\_Vorlon](#):
>
> The folks at Bimbo bakeries either cheapened the recipe, or don’t know how to read it–they have had to retrench and change some of the products. Susy-Q’s come to mind. the first attempt at them was two layers of sawdust surrounding a layer of lard. And that is being generous.
Are they better now? Last time I had a Susy-Q was 6 or 7 years ago and it mostly was like eating a faintly chocolate flavored sponge.
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### Author:  [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)
#### Post date: [August 15, 2020, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-they-do-to-hostess-fruit-pies/520181/48 "2020-08-15T10:38:23Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#):
>
> ^ My pleasure; it seems they use palm oil and sometimes soybean oil for shortening–at least for the pies. If you go to the Walmart website and type in the different types of pies, there’s an ingredients list near the bottom of the listing, like [this](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Tastykake-Apple-Pie-4-oz-Box/15580408). As for your bracketed comment above, I’d keep that away from the Tastykake advertising department, if you know what I mean. 😉
Thanks =)
My primary finds it amusing that I will eat off my forbidden list in that manner - he jokes that if it makes the whole bowel prep more endurable, who is he to stop me [and he points out that if I start getting anything other than the runs to stop as allergies can change and get worse. Since I always have an epi pen on hand, not too worried and husband is trained EMS =)]
> [@elfkin477](#):
>
> Are they better now? Last time I had a Susy-Q was 6 or 7 years ago and it mostly was like eating a faintly chocolate flavored sponge.
I had a ho-ho about 5 or so years ago, and was very disappointed, the cake was vaguely tan rather than a good chocolate and wimpy flavored and the chocolate coating was mostly that nasty waxy chocolate. Nothing like what I remembered.
I would much rather take the time to make the cake and buttercream frosting and make my own ‘jelly roll’ - it is sort of how I start my buche de noels anyways =) [properly buches de noel, who cares =)]
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### Author:  [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)
#### Post date: [August 15, 2020, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-they-do-to-hostess-fruit-pies/520181/49 "2020-08-15T15:30:48Z")
^ “Tastykake: Keep your epi pen handy.”
I like it. 😆
Your doctor sounds like a keeper.
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### Author:  [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)
#### Post date: [August 15, 2020, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-they-do-to-hostess-fruit-pies/520181/50 "2020-08-15T15:46:17Z")
I haven’t had one in decades, but when I was a kid I loved the chocolate Hostess fruit pie. Chocolate=Fruit. Hell yeah. So much sugar it would make you sweat.
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### Author:  [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)
#### Post date: [August 15, 2020, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-they-do-to-hostess-fruit-pies/520181/51 "2020-08-15T18:28:58Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#):
>
> ^ “Tastykake: Keep your epi pen handy.”
>
> I like it. 😆
>
> Your doctor sounds like a keeper.
Been with him for 16 years [yee ghods @\_@] We like him!
He is really good for my health, went through 2 endocrinologists who couldn’t get my A1C under 8, 6 months and he managed to figure out how to get me down under 6, same diet just med tweaking.
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### Author:  [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)
#### Post date: [August 17, 2020, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-they-do-to-hostess-fruit-pies/520181/52 "2020-08-17T12:49:01Z")
Wow, that was a long, long time ago! I haven’t lived in Visalia in 15 years, or in California in 7 years. Can’t help you with the question, sorry!
Joe
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