Sarah Magid was raised on health foods in Southern California and so when her three-year-old son picked up a package of Twinkies and wanted to buy them, she immediately looked at the label and was appalled.

What was polysorbate 60? She wondered.

"I told my son that we would go home and make them," says Magid, a custom baker and author of "Organic and Chic: Cakes, Cookies and Other Sweets That Taste as Good as They Look" (William Morrow 2009, $27.99). And so she did, creating a dish she calls Goldies, cake batter poured into éclair pans to recreate the shape, baked, then stuffed with a cream filling, frosted and then dusted with metallic gold dust.

Her son, Clyde, loved them and the experience convinced Magid to start rethinking her stance on other foods that she originally thought should be forbidden in a healthy home.

"We began experimenting with junk food gone good," says Magid.

The outcome was that Clyde seldom asked for anything made with polysorbate 60 or other processed foods. And Magid learned how to make organic foods that look and taste marvelous.

For parents wondering what to put into school lunch boxes now that school has started, Magid's take on Twinkies and Hostess Snowballs (she calls them Snowballz) are perfect for students looking for a yummy treat and for parents who want their children to eat healthy.

Magid's recipes take some time, but she thinks they're worth it.

"Now that eating organic has become more mainstream, we have the choice of buying and using organic ingredients in a modern, fresh way, shaking off that old crusty health food store stigma," she says.

Karen Jensen of Miller also tries to eat mostly organic and healthy. And she's found that it can often be simple to upgrade a favorite recipe into something wholesome.

"What I do to make healthier dessert is use real butter rather than margarine," she says. "To me a healthy dessert is kind of an oxymoron because unless you're going to make something without sugar and fat it's not going to be real healthy."

In keeping with that philosophy, Jensen, a Feldenkrais practitioner, says that she uses spelt flour which has less gluten than regular flour.

"So many people are developing gluten intolerance," she says. "I think the more we eat of one thing the more intolerant our bodies become."

She also uses agave because it's better than sugar and if a recipe calls for fruit, instead of using canned, she tries to get fresh from the farm. She also tries to use organic foods as much as possible.

"I think most people don't realize that there is a big difference in the nutrient value of organic," she says. "What I do is take a favorite recipe and try to substitute as many organic and healthy ingredients as possible to make it better. It's really that easy."

Karen Jensen's Slices

This recipe for slices was handed down to Jensen by her mother. She made substitutions to make it more nutritional.

2 sticks organic butter

2 cups organic flour (I use white spelt flour)

1/3 cup water

1 cup organic Graham cracker crumbs

3 to 4 cups fresh organic fruit like blueberries or apples

1/3 to 2/3 cup sugar

Dash of cinnamon

Butter

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix butter, flour and water together to make a dough. Roll half of dough and place in bottom of ungreased 9-by-13 cake pan. Sprinkle Graham cracker crumbs over bottom crust. Top with a layer of fresh, organic fruit or berries. Sprinkle one half to two thirds cup sugar over the fruit and add a dash of cinnamon if you like. Dot with butter. Roll out other half of dough and place on top. Bake one hour at 350 degrees. When cool, drizzle with a glaze made by adding a little fresh squeezed lemon, lime or orange juice to organic powdered sugar. Cut into squares or rectangles.

Goldies

Organic unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting the pans

Batter for Easiest Chocolate Cake (see below)

Vanilla Whipped Buttercream (see below)

Melted Chocolate Ganache (see below)

Gold metallic powder (available in the baking section of your grocery store or at www.cakedeco.com), for dusting

DIRECTIONS: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray two éclair pans with organic cooking spray and dust them with cocoa powder; set aside. Fit a small pastry bag with a size-12 tip and set aside. Using a ladle, fill each prepared éclair mold two-thirds full with cake batter. Bake for exactly 18 minutes. A cake tester should come out clean. Let sit in the pans for 5 to 10 minutes. Then hold each pan upside down and gently coax the Goldies out. Place them upside down on a wire rack and allow to cool completely. Once they have cooled, use a serrated knife to trim off the domed excess cake on the bottom of each Goldie. Fill the pastry bag with buttercream. One at a time, turn the cakes over and starting at one end, insert the piping tip almost an inch deep and insert a bit of cream. Do this every 1 to 2 inch. When all the Goldies are filled, cover them with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes. While the Goldies are chilling, prepare the Melted Chocolate Ganache. As it cools, set up a work area by covering a baking sheet with parchment paper. One at a time, with the rounded side facing down, dip the Goldies halfway into the ganache. Flip them over and place them upright on the parchment paper. Use a small spatula to spread the chocolate over all sides of the Goldies except the bottom. Once they are coated, return the Goldies to the refrigerator to allow the coating to set, about 20 minutes. Place the Goldies on a serving tray or in individual éclair wrappers. Using a 1-inch brush, lightly brush gold metallic powder on top of the Goldies, going back and forth to ensure they're covered completely in gold.

SOURCE: "Organic and Chic: Cakes, Cookies and Other Sweets That Taste as Good as They Look" (William Morrow 2009, $27.99)

Easiest Chocolate Cake

2-1/4 cups organic all-purpose flour

2 cups organic cane sugar

1 cup organic unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon organic vanilla extract

2/3 cup organic canola oil

2 teaspoons organic white vinegar

2 cups cold water

DIRECTIONS: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place liners in 2 muffin pans for 24 cupcakes. Set aside. In a large bowl, sift the dry ingredients together. Set aside. In a medium bowl, mix the vanilla extract, oil, vinegar, and cold water. Slowly whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, being careful not to over mix. The mixture will be quite wet, but this is OK. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 24 to 26 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to cool.

Vanilla Whipped Buttercream

2 sticks organic unsalted butter, softened

1 cup organic cane sugar

1 cup organic whole milk

1/4 cup sifted organic all-purpose flour

1-1/2 tablespoons organic vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS: Cream the butter on medium speed, 3 to 5 minutes, in a standing mixer or with a hand mixer until soft, about 30 seconds. Add the sugar and beat on high speed until light and fluffy, 5 to 7 minutes. In a small saucepan, combine 1/4 cup of the milk, the flour, and the vanilla extract, and whisk until there are no lumps. Over medium heat, slowly add the remaining 3/4 cup milk, whisking constantly, and cook until the mixture comes to a low boil. Then reduce the heat to low and keep whisking for a few more minutes, until the mixture starts to thicken. Immediately remove the pan from the heat, but keep stirring. (After you have removed the pan from the heat, the mixture will continue to cook for a minute or two on its own.) If you overheat it and get small lumps, try to whisk vigorously to get them out, or pass the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve. If necessary, place the pan over a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process and allow the mixture to cool. Once the milk mixture has thickened, set it aside to cool to room temperature. (You can stick it in the freezer to rush the cooling.) With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the milk mixture into the butter-sugar mixture. Increase the speed to medium and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add vanilla to combine.

Melted Chocolate Ganache

1 stick (1/2 cup) organic unsalted butter

Two 7-ounce bars organic 70 percent baking chocolate (or for real dark chocolate lovers, use unsweetened chocolate)

2 cups organic semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS: Place the butter and chocolate in the top of a double boiler or in a stainless-steel bowl placed over a saucepan one-quarter full of water. Over medium-high heat, stir the mixture frequently with a rubber spatula until the chocolate is almost melted. Remove from the bottom pan and stir until the chocolate has finished melting. Cool for 15 minutes or more, until thickened, before using.

Snowballz

Easiest Chocolate Cake (see above) or Vanilla Bean Butter Cake (see below)

1 recipe Classic Americana Icing (see below)

1 pound dried shredded organic coconut, sweetened or unsweetened

Food coloring (for the coconut)

DIRECTIONS: Prepare the Easiest Chocolate Cake or Vanilla Bean Butter Cake (depending on preference). While the cupcakes are baking, prepare the Classic Americana Icing. Once the cupcakes have cooled, remove them from the liners and trim the edges on top so each cupcake looks rounded, almost like a ball. Snack on the trimmings. Fit a small pastry bag with a size-12 tip and fill the bag with icing. Insert the tip almost all the way into the center of each cupcake, pressing gently to release some frosting inside the cupcake. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside. Tape a large piece of parchment paper on a clean work surface. In a large plastic bag that zips shut, combine 2 cups of the coconut and a few drops of food coloring. Use a separate bag for each color. Close the bag and shake to distribute the color evenly. Spread the colored coconut flakes in an even layer on the taped-down parchment paper. Working with only a few cupcakes at a time, frost the cupcakes all over with the remaining icing, and then roll them in the coconut flakes to cover all the icing. Place the Snowballz on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and chill in the refrigerator until the icing is set, about 10 minutes. Cover them well with plastic wrap, so they don't absorb refrigerator smells, and store in the refrigerator.

Vanilla Bean Butter Cake

1 cup organic unsalted butter, softened

1-3/4 cups organic cane sugar

4 organic eggs

1 cup organic whole milk

1 tablespoon organic vanilla extract

1/2 organic vanilla bean, seeds scraped out and reserved

2-3/4 cups organic all-purpose flour

1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place liners in muffin pans. Set aside. Cream butter and sugar on medium speed for three to five minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, on speed until incorporated. In a small bowl, combine milk, vanilla extract and vanilla seeds.Set aside. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. With the mixer on low speed, alternate the flour mixture and the vanilla milk in three batches, starting and ending with flour. When the mixture is almost combined, turn off mixer and finish mixing with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

Classic Americana Icing

2 sticks organic unsalted butter

7 cups organic powdered sugar, sifted

3 tablespoons organic whole milk

1-1/2 tablespoon organic vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS: In an electric mixer with a whisk attachment, whip the butter on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about three minutes. Add four cups of the sifted powdered sugar and mix on low speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl while combining. Raise the speed to medium for 30 seconds. On low speed, add milk and mix, and then add remaining sugar. Add the extract and mix.

SOURCE: Recipes from Sarah Magid's "Organic and Chic: Cakes, Cookies and Other Sweets That Taste as Good as They Look" (William Morrow 2009, $27.99)