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CPA: Certified Pastry Aficionado

Cup of Dirt Pudding

dessert· Fall Flavors
June 23, 2022

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Cup of Dirt Pudding – Homemade milk chocolate pudding is topped with gummy worms and crushed Oreos to simulate a cup of dirt.

angled view of cup of dirt pudding

As my kids get older, I get more and more excited to introduce them to the foods I used to love as a child. The newest one to enter the fold is this Cup of Dirt Pudding. My sister and I used to order this dessert at a restaurant we would visit and we both loved it. Smooth chocolate pudding, Oreo cookies on top, with gummy worms hidden inside – how could you not love it?!

To make this for my kids, I decided to make the pudding from scratch. It’s super simple and is much more flavorful than the boxed instant stuff. I made sure it wasn’t too rich by using milk chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet or dark chocolate.

Here is my Cup of Dirt Pudding!

overhead shot of cup of dirt pudding cups
photo of cup of dirt pudding from the side to show all the layers
spoonful of pudding and worms

Making the pudding

Homemade pudding is so easy that you’ll wonder why the instant stuff even exists. The main steps of making pudding are:

  1. Heat milk
  2. Add to dry ingredients
  3. Mix everything together and heat until thick

We take a few detours of these easy steps to ensure the dry ingredients don’t clump together and make the pudding all lumpy.

Once the pudding is thick, it’s cooled slightly before distributing among 6 cups and chilling in the fridge.

Finishing off the pudding

Right before serving, the pudding cups are topped with 4 gummy worms each and crush Oreos over the top to make it seem like the worms are hiding. You can even stick the forms deep in the pudding to hide them even better.

spoonful of pudding taken from the side to show cup in the background

Tips & Tricks

  1. Don’t boil the milk. If the milk boils, it could burn and even curdle. So it’s safe to just bring the milk to a scalding temperature right before it starts to boil.
  2. Pudding thickens FAST. Once the cornstarch mixes with the hot milk, it will start to thicken up. It will only take about 1 minute for the pudding to get to the desired texture so watch it closely.
  3. Top with “dirt” before serving. Make sure you only add the toppings right before serving. If you add them to the pudding and then refrigerate the pudding, the Oreos will soften and the worms will get really firm.
Print Recipe

Cup of Dirt Pudding

Prep Time15 minutes mins
Cook Time10 minutes mins
Cooling time1 hour hr
Total Time1 hour hr 25 minutes mins
Servings: 6 cups

Ingredients

  • 2 cups whole milk
  • ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup salt
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 7 ounces milk chocolate chips
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 24 gummy worms
  • 6 Oreo cookies

Instructions

  • Place milk in a 3 quart sauce pan and set over medium heat so that it starts to scald, but not boil. In the meantime, add cocoa, sugar, and salt to a medium bowl and whisk together. Add cream and cornstarch to a 2-cup measuring cup and whisk together.
  • Once milk is scalding, turn off heat. Add ¾ of the milk to the heavy cream mixture. Whisk together to loosen up any clumps of cornstarch. Then, add to cocoa mixture and whisk together until smooth. Add to the rest of the milk in the sauce pan and set back over medium heat.
  • Stir pudding occassionaly as it heats up and thickens. Once it starts to bubble, whisk to thicken it up. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and let it sit for 5 minutes so the chocolate can melt. Stir together with vanilla extract. Let it cool to room temperature and then scoop into 6 cups. Chill pudding for about an hour.
  • When ready to serve, top each pudding cup with 4 gummy worms. Then, crush the Oreos and top each pudding cup with a couple tablespoons of crushed Oreos. Serve immediately.

Notes

Pudding recipe adapted from Fine Cooking

Pin for later:

collage of cup of dirt photos with descriptive text

More recipes you’ll love:

Coconut Banana Pudding
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Chocolate Strawberry Parfaits
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Chocolate Cream Pie
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9 Comments

« Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie
Cherry Tomato Prosciutto Pizza »

Comments

  1. Michelle says

    July 5, 2022 at 9:31 am

    These are my kids favorite! So fun!

    Reply
  2. Tisha says

    June 24, 2022 at 8:22 pm

    This looks like something the kids would love!

    Reply
  3. Kris says

    June 24, 2022 at 7:06 pm

    My kiddos positively enjoyed this! Thank you for another winner! 🙂

    Reply
  4. Chenée says

    June 24, 2022 at 6:45 pm

    I love this! It’s a perfect treat to make with the kids!

    Reply
  5. Claudia Lamascolo says

    June 24, 2022 at 4:55 pm

    I love this for the kids and its so tasty too so we make it every Halloween

    Reply
  6. Andrea says

    June 24, 2022 at 3:52 pm

    My grandkids are going to love making these with me. They are such a fun dessert!

    Reply
  7. Nadalie says

    June 24, 2022 at 12:02 pm

    Cute!!! I’m sure my nephews will love this! I’m sure they’ll think twice before digging in!

    Reply
  8. Jen @ JENRON DESIGNS says

    June 24, 2022 at 11:37 am

    Dirt cups are always a favorite for kids, and a great summertime snack. Perfect for garden days!

    Reply
  9. Mimi says

    June 24, 2022 at 2:28 am

    Such a cute idea! Saving it for Halloween

    Reply

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Hi, my name is Sharon. I’m an accountant by day, risk-taking baker and food enthusiast by night. Come join me as I share my favorite recipes and test out new ones along the way!

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