Twinkies cereal is absolutely a thing, and it's coming to stores this December

Twinkies have long been one of America's most sought-after snacks.

Shortages have caused full-on grocery store riots, entire movie plots have been centered around finding them and fans have spent years arguing over their shelf life.

But soon getting the puffy, sweet treats will be easier than ever, because Twinkies are officially a breakfast food.

The iconic, pillowy-soft snacks are getting turned into cereal, thanks to a collaboration between Post and Hostess, which makes Twinkies, the companies announced Wednesday.

Twinkies cereal hits the shelves in late December, just in time to completely not start your post-holidays diet. In the meantime, here's everything we know about the new breakfast treat.

What will Twinkies cereal taste like?

Josh Jans, Post's brand manager for cereal partnerships, said the company conducted "multiple consumer tests" to nail down a formula that accurately captured the Twinkies flavor. So in short, it's probably going to taste a lot like Twinkies.

"In developing a cereal version of the iconic Twinkies, our top priority was focused on delivering the great Twinkies flavor in each bite," Jans said in the company's press release. "We think fans will find that it not only tastes great with milk but also outside the bowl."

Where can you buy it?

According to Post, Twinkies cereal will be available nationwide once the product hits stores.

This means the sugary breakfast snack should be easier to find than other cereal collaborations over the years, such as Dippin' Dots cereal and Pop-Tarts cereal, both of which are exclusively available at Walmart.

The culture around rare, specialty flavored cereals has become so wild that there are even online stores dedicated to reselling them, often for some pretty high prices. For example, Exclusive Cereal, an online breakfast treat retailer, previously sold the ultra-rare "Rugrats"-themed "Reptar Cereal" for $40, although that price has seen been halved.

Why do people like Twinkies so much, anyway?

The cultural phenomenon surrounding Twinkies traces all the way back to the Great Depression, when the snack was first introduced. The popular treats became a cultural talking point in 1979, after the term "Twinkie defense" was coined during a murder trial.

Lawyers for Dan White, who was eventually convicted of killing California politician Harvey Milk, claimed their client was partially incapacitated because of his addiction to sugary junk food — including Twinkies.

The snacks have now made their way into dozens of movies and TV shows, from "Zombieland" and "Wall-E" to "die Hard" and "The Jerk."

It's unclear if Twinkies cereal will add to that legacy, but we'll all find out soon enough.