Those delicious golden sponge cakes filled with gooey white cream were invented by James Dewar, who worked in the Hostess baking plant in Chicago.

Dewar wanted to find a use for shortcake pans that sat idle outside of strawberry season. In 1930, he came up with the idea of using those pans to make cream-filled sponge cakes. He reportedly named them Twinkies after a billboard he saw for Twinkle-Toe Shoes.

Twinkies were originally made with banana filling, but Hostess switched to vanilla during a banana shortage during World War II. Despite a 2012 scare when Hostess faced financial difficulties, Twinkies remain one of America’s most beloved snack foods.

Learn more:
Snack Food Rewind: A History of our Favorite Treats – Delish.com
The official Hostess website
How Twinkies Work