It's spooky season, y'all! I love a cutesy Halloween-themed food as much as the next person, but when it comes to execution, that's really the scary part. My intentions are good, but I'll be honest -- I have no real creative abilities. And I'm really impatient. But none of that should stop me from being able to serve up a tasty and still kind of cute seasonal treat. Enter "dirt" pudding.
I recently became aware that not everyone was lucky enough to know and eat dirt pudding as a kid, so if you're new to this concept, don't worry, there isn't actually dirt in it (although you can tell kids that for fun and watch them squeal). It is so simple that even the most troubled cook or baker can pull this off flawlessly and make a gaggle of kids (or kids at heart) smile with glee. Just a few ingredients and voila! Spooky season magic!
I served these up at a girls' night a few weeks ago and everyone was so excited. So don't think because you don't have a party of kids to serve that you can't make these. Everyone loves a bit of nostalgia and what's not to love about pudding and sandwich cookies?
Whip these up for your Halloween party or just because it sounds yummy. You won't be sorry. You can never be sorry when there's pudding involved.
Spooky "Dirt" Pudding
(Makes ~ 8 servings)
Prep time: 10 minutes | Idle time: 2 hoursClick below to download and print the recipe
Ingredients:
1 3.4oz. box of chocolate instant pudding
2 C. cold milk (any fat level works. I used skim and it turned out fine).
1 package of chocolate sandwich cookies, such as Oreos*
1 8oz. tub of whipped topping, such as Cool Whip (thawed)**
Gummy worms (or other creepy-crawly candy)
8 8-9oz clear cups or ramekins (I like using the clear disposable wine cups)
Directions:
Using a food processing or a zip top bag and a rolling pin, crush the Oreos into a course mixture. Some bigger pieces of cookies remaining is ok.
Spoon about a tablespoon of the cookies into the bottom of each cup/ramekin. Enough to cover the bottom.
In a large bowl or in the bowl of your stand mixer, whisk together the pudding mix and the milk. Increase the speed as it thickens then whip at high speed for about 2 minutes. The pudding should be thick at this point. If you're not using an electric mixer, you'll need to whip for a bit longer.
Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the Cool Whip until it is fully combined with the pudding. Gently mix in 1/2-3/4 cups of the crushed cookies.
Evenly distribute the pudding mixture between all of the cups. Top each cup with the remaining crushed cookies and nestle in your creepy-crawly candy, such as gummy worms, into the pudding.
Chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours before serving. These can be made a day in advance.
*Recipe notes + Variations*
*Make this gluten free by using gluten free sandwich cookies. I made this with Trader Joe's gluten free JoJos and it turned out great.
** Feel free to get the low fat kind. It will turn out just as good.
Make more with the same amount of ingredients by filling the cups less/using smaller cups.
"Dirt? I love dirt!" One of my fave childhood memories