Pudding is one of the easiest desserts to make and it’s of the treats that always makes my kids smile. Admittedly, I’m a great lover of pudding too (and ice cream). It’s not just the taste but it’s the smooth texture and the cold temperature that just really makes it feel like you’re eating something special.
Pudding is also one of the easiest desserts to use in other desserts and dress up for any holiday celebration. These Halloween Dirt Cups are one of my favorite ways to plus up pudding.
Dirt cups are a simple dessert to make. Basically, you add some pudding to individual cups or a large dish, add a few gummy worms and top with crushed cookies.
My Halloween Dirt Cups are similar in their simple preparation, but the decorations put them over the top. It’s enough to make any kid, or adult for that matter, exclaim with joy when they see them.
Topping the dirt cups with a chocolate tree and some pumpkin candy takes this everyday dessert to the next level. You can find similar pumpkin candy here and another great option here. Watch the video below to see how I make the chocolate trees for the dirt cups.
I like to make my pudding thicker than average when I use it in desserts. I just feel like it holds up better if there is any weight on it. It also doesn’t get the cookies you may be using along with it as moist and they provide a better crunch. See how I make it in the recipe below!
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Spooky Halloween Dirt Cups
Ingredients
- 12 oz. instant chocolate pudding
- 4 cups of whole milk
- 1 package of Oreo cookies or another dark colored cookie
- 10 oz. of melting chocolate
- Pumpkin candy
- Optional: gummy worms
Instructions
- Whisk your instant chocolate pudding with your milk until well blended. This will be thicker than normal pudding so it holds up better to any weight and it will hold the chocolate trees in place better.
- Chill pudding for 30 minutes.
- Using parchment paper and a pencil or a pen, use lines to create tree shapes on one side. Place that side you wrote on DOWN on a cookie sheet.
- While the pudding is chilling, melt your chocolate in the microwave. Melt it in 30 second increments so you don't burn it. You want it to be mostly melted. If there are a few larger pieces left you can likely break them up if you mix it all with a fork.
- After the chocolate is melted, add it to a plastic bag or a piping bag with a small tip. I simply used a sandwich bag and cut a very small whole in one corner. You can see it in the video above.
- Take your bag of chocolate and carefully trace your trees. Set aside for about 10 minutes to cool and harden. You can also put them in the refrigerator to speed up the process.
- Remove your pudding from the refrigerator and spoon it out into individual cups. Or, if you're make a larger dessert go ahead and spoon it into a bowl.
- Top with the crushed Oreos and add the pumpkins.
- Using a tooth pick, create a hole in the spot where you want to place your trees. They will be really delicate since the chocolate is thin and you just want to create a little space for them to make it easier when you add them.
- Once your trees have hardened, carefully remove them from the cookie sheet. You can use a spatula if you need to.
- Carefully place them in the dessert in the sport you created and serve!
This is such a fun Halloween treat. My kids are going to love this.
They are so adorable! My grandkids would go crazy for these. So creative and original.
This is such a cute twist on the traditional pumpkin patch dessert. I like that it can be in individual portions. The trees are a great addition!
Dirt cups are so much fun to make and eat. I love the spooky Halloween twist and they are so cute – I mean, spooky. 🙂 Adorable!!
These are so fun and festive!! Perfect for a Halloween party. You have so many great treats
What a fun idea for Halloween! I love all things Oreo so I’d definitely try these!
These are the cutest ever! I love the tree! I love dirt cake and I know my kids would love this too! We are gonna try it!
These are always fun! I’ve made regular dirt cups for my kids before, but these are fancier.
Those are so cute! I love the chocolate trees in the center. They look straight out of The Nightmare Before Christmas.
What a cute idea for a party. These would be awesome for my kids to make.
These are adorable for kids and adults!
What a fun, tasty Halloween treat! We will have fun making and eating these!
I love dirt pudding and dirt cups. These look like the perfect Halloween dessert for a party.
Oh my goodness these are so cute! I love the idea of making some spooky dirt cakes to enjoy on Halloween!
These pudding cups are the absolute cutest! I love the spooky trees and adorable little pumpkins.
Wow! These Spooky Halloween Dirt Cups look sooo awesome and spookylicious! This will be perfect on Halloween parties. Kids will love them
These are amazing. I really love how they turned out. I love how you made the trees. That’s such a great idea.
These look spooky good and I love your Instagram feed too. I can’t wait to follow along for more recipes and life.
These are so fun! My 3-year-old will absolutely love making (and eating) these treats.
This is really a cute idea!! My kids will surely love these!
Wow. Really creative design for a Halloween treat. I wish I can create one as pretty as yours. I will do my best!
wow! What a great idea for Halloween! I love how easy are these dirt cups to make thanks to your recipe!
These are not your ordinary Oreo dirt cups! I LOVE the spooky trees!!!! It adds so much character to this dessert! Kids (and adults) would enjoy this treat! Can’t wait to try it!
Talk about a good recipe for dessert this season! It looks so decadent and sinful. What I also love is that it’s super easy to make! Everyone’s going to love it!
I love the spooky trees and pumpkins. It gives it a great spooky look.
What a delightful treat for Halloween! It never fails to amaze me to see Halloween treats that are so creative like that. Great job!
They look amazing! Perfect for our Halloween Party! Not sure if I can make mine look as pretty as yours but I will try!
I love these! They look so realistic – how much fun will kiddos have this year?
Super cute idea! I love the tree branches, they look spooky but cool, too. I think the “dirt” would be very tasty.
What a fun idea! Those tree branches are a unique piece that would be fun for the kids to make and do something a little different in their cupcake decorating.
This is so freaking cute to be honest I am bookmarking every cute Halloween ideas I get online. And this will be on my list I will be sharing this to my sister because we both planning to throw a party this week.
These are so awesome! I especially love the way the trees turned out.
I was caught looking at these by my daughter who is so excited to help make these! The little pumpkins are a joint love of ours, so they’re the perfect topping to a delightfully fun treat.
This looks easy and fun to make! I am sure that kids would love this especially my niece!
How fun! These are perfect for Halloween parties. And also a great after school snack on Halloween day!
These are so cute and clever! Perfect for Halloween!
I agree dirt cups are easy and kids love them.
We love dirt cups. These are the cutest and we are going to make these as a family.
These are so cute!! I love how the chocolate spooky tree looks! What a fun touch!!
These spooky fun Halloween dirt cups look like a delicious treat to enjoy! I will have to try to gather up the ingredients and make these with my kiddos.
These are super cool! My kids would love them!
Wow this is the best! I am so excited for Halloween. Gonna decor my house.
This sounds like a fun treat to make with the whole family for Halloween! It’s easy to make and so delicious!
These are super duper amazing! I love the pumpkin recipe, would love to try this.
These are so cute and I love that they are simple to make.
Love these easy Halloween treats!! My kids enjoyed making and eating this!
I love these and they are so fun for halloween! Dirt cups are a favorite around here and love the seasonal twist on these!
Dirt cups has always been a favorite in our home. I love your tweak of keeping the pudding thicker. And this Halloween version is adorable!
these are so cute!!! i wanna make some
These are absolutely adorable!!! Perfect for a Halloween Treat!
This recipe is so perfect the kids! So fun and spooky.
Yummy, the sound of the ‘dirt cup’ is a very good way to express ‘Halloween treats. lol
This spooky tree is looking beautiful. No treat can be as good as this tree. Thanks for sharing!
I think that the gummy worms is such a cute addition. I can’t wait to make this with my niece!
These are so cute I love them. My kids would too.