10 Discontinued Snack Cakes That Deserve A Comeback: Hostess, Little Debbie And More

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While walking down the snack aisle at the grocery store, you're bound to encounter towering shelves stacked with snack cakes and other dessert products, many of which are manufactured by the same recognizable brands. It's impossible to avoid the boxes upon boxes of Hostess' world-famous Twinkies or Little Debbie's beloved Swiss Rolls. These single-serve cakes have become popular snacks over the years, whether you're looking for a sweet bite after dinner or a small treat to pack in your kiddo's lunchbox.

If you've found yourself facing the snack cake section recently, you might've noticed that a familiar favorite item is back on the shelves after disappearing for several years: Hostess' Suzy Q's, a Twinkie-shaped whoopie pie has returned. The return of this nostalgic treat got us thinking about the other snack cakes that have been discontinued over the years — and, more importantly, about which ones deserve a spot on the shelves again, because not every snack is worthy of a second chance.

Many shoppers have voiced their desire to see certain items return to production, with some even going as far as starting online petitions. Combing through fan campaigns and a few lengthy Reddit threads on the topic, we've found ten discontinued snack cakes deemed worthy of a comeback. For some of them, it wouldn't be the first time they returned to shelves.

A significant number of online commenters still mourn the loss of one particular Hostess snack cake: Chocodiles. A classic Twinkie in a fudgy coating, they were a popular choice for those who wanted a chocolatey version of the brand's most famous product. They even had their own mascot — Chauncey Chocodile — who accompanied other Hostess characters in advertisements and at public promotional events.

Originally introduced in 1977, Chocodiles eventually disappeared in the late '90s, only to be revived twice in the 2010s under different names: Chocodile Twinkies and Fudge Covered Twinkies. Unfortunately, these versions were also discontinued, and the exact reason remains unknown. Additionally, it's important to note that Chocodiles were mostly only available on the West Coast during the product's prime years, as there was a limited number of factories manufacturing the snack.

The closest recent product to Chocodiles was Hostess's Ding Dongs x Twinkies Mashup: a circular Twinkie coated in Ding Dongs fudge, released in 2023. However, this appears to have been a limited edition release, as they aren't featured on Hostess's current product list. With so many versions of Chocodiles released over the years and so many loyal fans begging for their return, it's surprising that they haven't made a full comeback yet.

The rich, custardy decadence of Boston cream makes it a popular flavor for many desserts, whether it's in a pie, a doughnut, or even a trifle. Little Debbie put its own spin on this New England specialty with its Boston Creme Rolls by rolling the iconic filling in vanilla sponge cake, with a layer of chocolate on the bottom for stability and chocolate drizzled over the top. Sadly, the snack was discontinued in 2023. Today, the closest you can get to Boston Creme Rolls is probably Little Debbie's Zebra Cake Rolls — pretty much the same thing, but with the classic cream filling and coated in white icing.

Although the exact reason the product was removed from shelves is unspecified, the decision hasn't gone over well with many shoppers. A Change.org petition was launched nearly three years ago when Little Debbie announced it would halt production of Boston Creme Rolls. The petition currently has over 1000 signatures — with many coming as recently as a month ago — as loyal fans of the snack cake continue to fight for its return. It's difficult to find other snack cakes on the market that contain anything remotely close to Boston cream, so bringing it back would certainly add some variety to the current selection.

Another discontinued Little Debbie product, Spice Cakes, has also encouraged fans to speak up about their return. The snack cakes launched in the 1980s, but quietly disappeared sometime in the '90s. According to a petitioner who reached out to Little Debbie about bringing Spice Cakes back, the brand claimed there was not enough interest to resume production, despite the popularity of fall-inspired snack flavors. Still, the Change.org petition has amassed over 1,100 signatures over the last few years, with many fans mentioning how Spice Cakes were a childhood staple that they'd love to experience again.

A spiced cake (naturally) topped with cream cheese frosting and a gingerbread-like seasoning, Spice Cakes were the perfect snack for lovers of autumnal flavors. Little Debbie has since replaced them with other seasonal flavors, including Pumpkin Spice Rolls and Fall Party Cakes. However, none of its current fall-inspired snacks manage to fully capture everything there was to love about Spice Cakes, especially for those who aren't a fan of pumpkin spice. 

There's no shortage of delicious Hostess snacks for everyone to enjoy, but the brand is most famous for Twinkies — fluffy, yellow, bar-shaped cakes filled with cream so sweet, you can feel the sugar on your teeth. In 1999, the brand took this product to the next level by revealing Hostess Leopards. They had everything there is to love about a Twinkie, only with mini chocolate chips mixed into the cake batter. What could be better than combining a Twinkie with a classic chocolate chip cookie?

Though Hostess' Leopards haven't been around since the mid-2000s, they were known for being a tasty, chocolatey alternative to the brand's name-making product. The distinct spotted cake and leopard on the packaging made them a fun new addition to a child's lunchbox. However, these particular snack cakes were even higher in calories and fat than the original Twinkies, which may have been the reason they were axed from production. As much as '90s kids would like to see this nostalgic treat make a comeback, it probably needs some adjustments to its nutritional value first.

In the realm of summery flavors, lemon takes the cake (pun intended), especially when the tart citrus is paired with the light, sugary goodness of a classic meringue. There's nothing like a good lemon meringue dessert on a hot summer's day, and it would appear that Little Debbie took that into consideration when it released its Lemon Meringue Roll — yellow cake rolled around the sweet and sour cream filling and drizzled with lemon icing. It's unclear exactly when they were introduced, though they accompanied other seasonal items like Little Debbie's Fig Bars and Marshmallow Treats.

Unfortunately, this product was discontinued in 2013 due to low sales and a general lack of consumer interest. However, according to an Archive Market Research report, the popularity of lemon-flavored products has increased exponentially over the years, and many brands have expanded their product lines in response to a growing demand for natural flavors. Given how lemon treats have been trending, lovers of Little Debbie's short-lived Lemon Meringue Rolls might just get lucky and see them returned to shelves.

Though Drake's may not be as recognizable as Hostess or Little Debbie, it's still a big name in the world of snack cakes, producing items like Yodels and Devil Dogs. It has a few discontinued products, like Danish Pastries and Pick-M-Ups, but there's one treat in particular that snack cake lovers yearn for: Sunny Doodles. These beloved cupcakes were essentially a vanilla-flavored alternative to Drake's chocolate, creme-filled Yankee Doodles. They were also available with fruit fillings instead of cream.

Unfortunately, in 2002, Sunny Doodles with sell-by dates between July and August of that year were recalled, as they were found to contain soy flour but failed to list it among the ingredients. They never returned to shelves, even after Drake's was purchased by a new owner. This disappointed many shoppers who preferred the vanilla poundcake recipe to the chocolatey Yankee Doodles. Several years ago, a petition was launched to bring Sunny Doodles back into production; it currently has over 700 signatures, some added very recently. Despite the love and support for Sunny Doodles, Yankee Doodles seem to be the preferred option, as they're still a staple of Drake's product list.

Little Debbie's selection of fruit-based snack cakes is fairly limited to strawberry flavors, like its Strawberry Shortcake Rolls and Unicorn Cakes. However, Apple Flips became a fan favorite fruity option, with lovers of the treat still fighting for its return to this day. Apple Flips disappeared but were eventually relaunched as Apple Delights in the '90s. Though it's debatable whether they could be called cakes, Apple Delights featured a thick mixture of apples, cinnamon, and nutmeg within a glazed pie-style pastry crust, making them just similar enough to other Little Debbie snack cakes to be worth mentioning. 

Apple Delights were clearly geared toward school children with their smiley-face design and classroom imagery on the packaging. Given the packaging and the popularity of apple as a seasonal fall flavor, this product was marketed as a back-to-school special before being discontinued sometime in the early 2000s, possibly due to poor sales. There's no way to know if Little Debbie will bring this product back, but if you're nostalgic for Apple Delights, Little Debbie's Mini Apple Fruit Pies come close.

Little Debbie rarely misses an opportunity to offer seasonal specials like the aforementioned Apple Delights and Lemon Meringue Rolls, even if these products have since been discontinued. Easter Carrot Cake Rolls consisted of a cream cheese filling rolled up in soft, spicy carrot cake and drizzled with icing. While they were marketed as an Easter product, they were actually available year-round before they were removed from production. Though it's unclear exactly when Easter Carrot Cake Rolls were released or discontinued, they were a well-loved, if short-lived, springtime treat. 

With carrot cake being such a popular dessert, it's surprising that Easter Carrot Cake Rolls didn't last, even as a limited seasonal offering. Little Debbie has plenty of other seasonal spring products, including its Butterfly Cakes and Easter Basket Cakes, but many of these are just visual twists on the brand's year-round snack cakes. Who knows — if demand for a more unique spring flavor increases, Easter Carrot Cake Rolls just might make a reappearance.

Hostess isn't afraid to introduce new and exciting items to its product line or bring back nostalgic favorites for special occasions — even if said revivals are short-lived and a bit different from what people may recall. A perfect example of this is Hostess's Tiger Tail snack cakes, which were essentially Twinkies topped with coconut flakes and a raspberry jelly drizzle. Tiger Tails were first introduced in 1966 before disappearing, but they were reintroduced in 1986. They were discontinued again in 2013 for reasons unknown, though it was potentially due to Hostess filing for bankruptcy in 2012.

To the surprise and delight of many, Tiger Tails returned in 2020 after the release of Netflix's "Tiger King" documentary. Unfortunately, fans of the classic treat were left disappointed when they realized it was an entirely new product. Twinkies filled with orange crème and lacking the raspberry and coconut topping, the new Tiger Tails were the same in name only. While the original cakes might have been an acquired taste, they were still favored by many as an option that was very unlike other Hostess products. A return would offer a unique alternative for those who want something extra on their Twinkies.

Once more, shoppers are attempting to recruit the public's help in bringing back a beloved, discontinued Little Debbie product. Debuting in 1965, just one year after the likes of Zebra Cakes and Nutty Buddies, Banana Twins were among some of the brand's first cake products. However, despite Banana Twins being around for more than five decades, Little Debbie eventually axed them from its product list.

Of course, banana isn't always the most sought-after choice in the realm of artificial fruit flavors, since it doesn't taste much like an actual banana at all. A crème filling sandwiched between two slices of banana cake, with two per pack, Little Debbie seemingly did something right with the Banana Twins, though. A petition to bring them back is close to reaching 2,500 signatures, with some lovers of the treat having signed in the past few weeks. Banana cake might not be everyone's first choice, but Little Debbie seemed to have hit the mark with this product, and it'll be interesting to see if the demand is high enough for the brand to bring Banana Twins back into production.