Hostess Brands, the baker of Twinkie cakes and other iconic American foods, filed for bankruptcy protection on Nov. 16 after failing to win concessions on union contracts.

Hostess Twinkies are one of Hostess Brands' most well-known packaged desserts. Gregory F. Rayburn, Hostess Brands' CEO said, "Hostess Brands will move promptly to lay off most of its 18,500-member workforce and focus on selling its assets to the highest bidders."

A loaf of Wonder Bread, Jan. 10, 2012, in New York City. The privately held Hostess Brands is based in Irving, Texas. The company had experienced high labor costs and rising prices for sugar, flour and other ingredients.

Hostess CupCakes were known for their "seven squiggles of icing, the decadent frosting and the creme-filled core," as the company stated. Hostess Brands had previously filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2012.

Hostess' round Ding Dong were named in relation to a television ad with a ringing bell around the 1960s. Hostess Brands blamed the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM) for not accepting a labor proposal, but Frank Hurt, union president had said Hostess was "making a mockery of the labor relations system that has been in place for nearly 100 years."

Hostess Suzy Q's, "the world's most decadent sandwich," the company said, are pictured. Hostess is owned by a group of investment firms, including private equity firm Ripplewood Holdings. Hostess' debt is owned by hedge funds Silver Point Capital and Monarch Alternative Capital.

Hostess Sno Balls are a pink and white snack cake made with chocolate cake, a creme center and a marshmallow and coconut outside. Invented in 1947, Hostess made over 30 million Sno Balls a year, according to Food Network's show, Unwrapped. The show also revealed that the inside of a Sno Ball was a Hostess CupCake turned upside down with the same filling.

Hostess Ho Hos are "so sweet we had to name them twice," Hostess once described the cylindrical rolled snack.

Drake's, a baking company owned by Hostess, sold creme-filled Devil Dog snack cakes which had 170 calories each.

Hostess also sold Coffee Cakes and a number of its other iconic products in 100 Calorie Packs.

Hostess Zingers, similar in shape to the famous Twinkie, come in a variety of flavors including rasberry.

A Hostess plant in Emporia, Kan. is shown producing Twinkies. As many as 700 workers have been employed at Emporia in recent years, the Associated Press reports.

A factory in Schiller Park, Ill. is shown making the signature squiggles on Hostess CupCakes. The Twinkie was born at Schiller Park on April 6, 1930 by James Dewar, manager of the Continental Baking Co., according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Dewar tried different uses of shortcake pans, filling Twinkies with banana cream originally. Three Hostess bakeries in the state employed 1,415 people.