Celebrate spooky season with these Halloween dirt cups! Just like your favorite nostalgic Oreo dirt cups, these chocolate pudding cups are layered with crushed Oreo cookies and topped with gummy worms and mushrooms. The homemade chocolate pudding is egg-free and super simple to make, and I think they're so cute for your next Halloween party!
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I know, I know. You could make these Halloween dirt cups with boxed instant pudding mix and some Cool Whip. But if you know me, then you know I love making impressive desserts that are deceptively simple to make. And I promise, these Oreo dirt cups with homemade creamy chocolate pudding are easy!
I originally was going to use the chocolate pudding from my chocolate pudding with a graham cracker crust, but decided to rework the recipe so it didn't use eggs. That means, no need to temper eggs or worry about chunky pudding - yay!
The homemade pudding is layered with crushed Oreo cookies, and I topped them with gummy worms and some homemade meringue mushrooms. I got the idea of adding mushrooms from this charming store in Maine and just had to recreate it!
If you want even more spooky desserts for Halloween parties, you have to try my black velvet cake and black velvet cupcakes! Or if you want more pumpkin, try my pumpkin pie cups!
This recipe was originally published in October 2020. It has since been updated with a brand new recipe and new images.
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Why you'll love this recipe
- Simple Chocolate Pudding: this is a really easy chocolate pudding recipe, but it has so much chocolate flavor thanks to using both cocoa powder and chopped chocolate. Plus, you don't need eggs to make this chocolate pudding!
- Halloween Treats: you can easily make these Oreo dirt cups for a Halloween party and make them even spookier with pumpkin candy or make little gravestones with Milano cookies.
Grab your ingredients
- Chocolate: be sure to use a good quality chocolate bar, it will make all the difference. You'll want to use bittersweet chocolate or something around 70% cocoa. I don't usually recommend chocolate chips because they have an emulsifier in them that makes them harder to melt, but if that's all you have on hand then use that!
- Cocoa Powder: I tested this recipe with dutch processed cocoa powder, which is richer and darker than natural cocoa powder.
- Whole Milk: I recommend using whole milk for this recipe as I haven't tested it with skimmed milk.
- Cornstarch: this is going to thicken up the pudding, so definitely don't skip this out!
- Butter: adding butter at the end of making the pudding is going to help thicken it up a bit more and make it richer.
- Crushed Oreos: a must for these dirt pudding cups! But you can always swap it out for a different cookie if you want. You can buy them crushed already at the grocery store, or do what I did and blend them in a food processor.
Substitutions & Additions
- Cocoa Powder: in a pinch, you can use natural cocoa powder instead of dutch processed cocoa powder.
- Cookies: I'm using regular Oreo cookies, but you could use other chocolate cookies, graham crackers, or golden Oreos.
- Meringue Mushrooms: I just thought these little mushrooms added a whimsical touch! I used this meringue mushroom recipe, but you could also buy marzipan mushrooms, fondant mushrooms, mushroom cake toppers.
How to make this recipe
- Step 1: In a large saucepan, whisk together the cornstarch, salt, sugar and cocoa powder.
- Step 2: Place the pan on the stove over medium-low heat and slowly whisk in the milk mixture. Continue whisking until it starts to steam.
- Step 3: Add in the chopped chocolate and continue whisking until the chocolate has melted. Let the pudding come to a boil, with bubbles on the sides and in the center. Let boil for 1 minute. It should very quite thick and coat the back of a spoon.
- Step 4: Take the pan off the stove. Add the vanilla extract and butter and whisk to combine.
- Step 5: Pour into a heatproof mixing bowl and gently press plastic wrap on top of the pudding so it doesn't form a skin. Place in the fridge for 1 hour to chill.
- Step 6: Take out your cups and scoop out the pudding, I used a large cookie scoop to scoop out about 2 scoops for each cup. Then sprinkle over crushed Oreo cookie crumbs. Repeat this once more, ending with Oreo crumbs. Place in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight, then decorate and enjoy!
My Baking Tips & Notes
- Different Cup Sizes: I'm using quite large drinking glasses, so I needed more pudding mixture for my glasses. If you're using smaller plastic cups or dessert cups, you'll need less pudding and be able to make more Oreo dirt cups, so keep that in mind!
- Let Chill Briefly: let the chocolate pudding chill for about an hour in the fridge. At this point, it'll still be very easy to scoop out and not too firm yet.
- Prep Everything: I recommend weighing out everything beforehand, a little mise en place (which means setting up everything before you start cooking or baking!) is going to be so helpful when you're making the pudding on the stove.
- Crushing Oreos: if you don't have a food processor or blend, you can crush the Oreos in a ziploc bag. Just place them in a ziploc bag and use a rolling pin to crush them until you have fine crumbs.
Serving Suggestions
- Halloween: if you want to make this even more creepy and spooky, add candy eyeballs, candy pumpkins, tombstone cookies or ghosts!
- Slightly Sweeter: if you want these dirt cups to be a bit sweeter, you can mix the chocolate pudding with whipped cream before assembling. You'll get more dirt cups that way and the pudding will be lighter and fluffier. To do this, whip 1 cup of heavy cream until you have medium to stiff peaks. Gently fold it with the chilled pudding before assembling. You could also do layers of whipped cream within the cups if you prefer!
Storage
Keep the Halloween dirt cups in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Try these Halloween recipes next!
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Thank you!
Ella
Recipe
Easy Halloween Dirt Cups with Homemade Chocolate Pudding
Get ready for spooky season with these Halloween dirt cups! This is a simple dessert layered with Oreo cookie crumbs and chocolate pudding.
Equipment
- large saucepan
- Whisk
- Large Mixing Bowl
- food processor
- Plastic Cups or Jars
Ingredients
- 3.5 oz (100 grams) bittersweet chocolate
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder dutch processed
- 3 cups (680 ml) whole milk
- 6 tablespoons sugar
- 4 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 28 Oreo cookies crushed
Ella's Baking Tip!Weigh your ingredients with a kitchen scale for the best results!
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, whisk the cocoa powder, sugar, salt and cornstarch together.2 tablespoons cocoa powder, 6 tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 4 tablespoons cornstarch
- Place the saucepan on the stove over medium-low heat and slowly pour in the milk, mixing constantly with a whisk.3 cups (680 ml) whole milk
- Once it begins to steam, add the chopped chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has melted.3.5 oz (100 grams) bittersweet chocolate
- Let the pudding mixture come to a boil, at this point it should be quite thick. Let it boil and bubble for exactly one minute, then take it off the heat.
- Stir in the vanilla extract and butter.1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter
- Pour the pudding into a large mixing bowl. After a minute or two, place plastic wrap on top of the pudding (so it's touching the surface), to help it from forming a skin. Place in the fridge for one hour.
- Take out your plastic dessert cups, jars or glass cups. The amount of pudding and Oreo cookie crumbs you're going to put in each cup depends on the size of your cups. Evenly distribute the pudding across your cups, followed by a layer of Oreo cookie crumbs. Repeat this once more.28 Oreo cookies
- Place in the fridge to chill for at least 3-4 hours, or overnight. When ready to serve, decorate with gummy worms, meringue mushrooms or candy pumpkins!
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Notes
My recipes have been developed and tested in metric grams. I highly recommend using a weighing scale and measuring out your ingredients the metric way.
Cup Size: I'm using really large drinking glasses, which made 4 cups for me. Using smaller plastic cups or dessert cups will give you more servings, so please keep that in mind!
Chocolate: use high-quality chocolate if you can! If you're based in Europe, use a chocolate that is 70% cocoa.
Whole Milk: if you use skimmed or semi-skimmed milk, the pudding won't be as thick.
Whipped Cream: if you want these pudding cups to be a bit lighter in texture and taste, whip 1 cup of heavy cream with a hand held mixer until you have medium to stiff peaks. Gently fold it with the chilled pudding before assembling. Or layer the whipped cream with the pudding and Oreo cookie layers.
Meringue Mushrooms: I followed this recipe to make the mushrooms.
Storage: Keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment below! You can also tag me on Instagram @alpineella so I can see what you made!
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