For An Upgraded Little Debbie Honey Bun, Toss It In The Air Fryer

We're huge fans of our countertop air fryer, using it for everything from cooking crispy Brussels sprouts to reheating McDonald's chicken nuggets. Every so often, however, we get the wild hair to push the agreed-upon limits of air frying and try some weird and wild culinary experiments to determine what heretofore unknown foods actually get better when air fried. On that note, we bring up the humble Little Debbie Honey Bun. Sticky, sweet, and slightly cinnamon-y, you're probably used to munching one of these snack cakes after your lunch at work or school. We're here to tell you, however, that air frying Honey Buns elevates them in such a way that, once you've tried them, you may never settle for a straight-from-the-wrapper Honey Bun ever again.

All it takes is five minutes in your air fryer at 400 degrees to yield an upgraded Honey Bun that is crackly with candied sugar coating, soft as a cloud on the inside, warm, yielding, and slightly toasty in flavor. We saw this hack all over social media before trying it ourselves, and it's no exaggeration to say that this treatment has revolutionized our nighttime snacking routine. It's not always feasible to grab a gourmet doughnut or hot dessert at a moment's notice when our post-dinner sweet tooth demands satisfaction, but Honey Buns are right there on the shelf and mere minutes away from rocking our world. Serving them up with a scoop of ice cream on top? Whoa, Nelly!

Turns out that there is a whole social media rabbit hole dedicated to folks sticking snack cakes in the air fryer, with varying levels of success. Air frying Oatmeal Cream Pies, for instance, results in a crispier cookie outside, but breaks down the cream filling almost to the point of nothingness. Your mileage may vary depending on your individual air fryer and factors like how long you put them in for. Similarly, air frying snack cake brownies and Twinkies mostly caused the icing or filling to melt away if left in for too long. When just barely kissed by heat (on a 30-second air fry, for instance), these cakes were agreeably warm and gooey, but nothing to write home about. Some folks, not content to just stick their Little Debbies straight in the air fryer, actually take things a step further — we've seen Christmas Tree Cakes battered in pancake mix before cooking, which resulted in a product that had largely disintegrated on the inside.

While some snack cakes can't take the heat, Honey Buns handle air frying exceptionally well. They are dense and cakey enough to not char, and don't feature any filling or topping that will react poorly to melting temps. In fact, Honey Buns are only improved by air frying, and this knowledge is going to forever change the way we snack on them!