Halloween Dirt Cup Shooters
Cute, quick, and tasty, Halloween Dirt Cup Shooters are a fun spin on a classic easy dessert. Whip up the creamy chocolate pudding then have fun with the toppings; they can be as simple or as involved as you want them to be.
The cutest dirt cups you ever did see.
“Dirt cups” are a pretty simple and common treat — the charm is all in the ease, affordability, and the fun inherent in making food resemble something else, a party trick well-known to elicit smiles from kids and kids at heart. For this simple spin, we’re making the “dirt cups” with a little Halloween inspiration and in small shooter glasses, both because they’re adorable and also because this makes for a pretty satisfying yet reasonable portion, if you ask me.
The base is a simple chocolate pudding lightened up with whipped cream, or Cool Whip for a small shortcut. Crushed Oreos are so easy yet cute as a top layer and add textural contrast to the creamy pudding. Then the real fun is the toppings: for that cute spooky vibe, pick up a variety of candy worms and eyeballs, or get creative and use more Oreos, peanut butter cups, or small chocolate bars to make bats, ghosts, or tombstones. It would be really fun to make a “decorate your own dirt cup” station at a kids’ Halloween party — just have the cups and an assortment of toppings ready to go, and let them go wild.
Where to find small shooter glasses?
The set of shooter glasses in these photos is one I purchased many years ago from Pier One — may it rest in peace — and although I use it infrequently, I do love it for the occasional cute treat such as this.
Never fear, however. To no one’s surprise, Amazon has several similar options, including a practical set of disposable shooter cups with spoons that would be great for kids or large parties and this well-rated set of glass cups only that would be practical if you already own small flatware, like espresso spoons, that will fit inside.
Of course, if you want to make larger portions or just to keep it simple by using what you already have, any small-ish glass will work. I also made a few in larger cocktail glasses for the fun of it, which you can see here:
One plus of using a wider cup is more surface area to decorate, so there is that! Simple small plastic cups are also a great option for parties. Just try to grab clear ones if possible because it’s fun to see the layers.
Tips and Tricks for Success
- Make the pudding a little ahead of time. While not completely necessary, the pudding has the most pleasant taste and texture if it has at least one hour to chill before serving.
- Pipe pudding into shooter glasses. If using shooter glasses, make them easy to fill by scooping the pudding into a pastry bag or a gallon-sized zip-top bag and snipping off a small triangle from one of the bottom corners. Gently press from the top down to pipe the pudding into each shooter cup. This is so much less hassle and mess than trying to fill shooters with a spoon. If using larger cups, it’s easy enough to just spoon the pudding inside.
- Add toppings just before eating. For the best texture, add the crushed Oreos along with any eyes, gummies, or other candies right before these will be eaten.
Storage
Once the pudding is made, it will keep well in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. You can keep it either in the individual serving cups or in a large bowl, whatever is more convenient, as long as it can be tightly covered.
Again, it’s best to eat dirt cups right away after adding the toppings.
Related Recipes
Looking for more Halloween recipe inspiration? Try these recipes next, or browse my full collection of spooky eats here.
- Caramel Apple Cheesecake Dip
- Ghoulish Black Bean Dip
- Ghost Mini Taco Hand Pies
- Spooky Charcuterie
- Easy Sliced Caramel Apples Board
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Halloween Dirt Cup Shooters
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup heavy cream or 4 ounces Cool Whip, thawed
- 1 box (3.9 ounces) Instant chocolate pudding and pie filling
- 2 cups cold milk for best results, whole or 2%
- 10-12 ounces chocolate sandwich cookies such as Oreos
- candy worms, eyes, chocolate chips, peanut butter cups, or bars for decorating
Instructions
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream on medium-high speed for 3-4 minutes, until medium-stiff peaks form. Scrape the whipped cream out into a bowl and set aside. (Skip this step if using Cool Whip.)
- In the same bowl, combine the pudding mix and cold milk. Whisk well to blend and set aside for about 5 minutes. The mixture will thicken up rapidly.
- Add the whipped cream or Cool Whip back into the bowl and gently fold it into the pudding. Pipe or spoon the mixture out into serving dishes or cups, leaving space at the top. Cover and chill for at least one hour.
- While you wait, blitz the Oreos in a food processor or crush with a rolling pin into fine crumbs. Gather and set out any candy or other decorations.
- Just before serving, sprinkle a generous layer of Oreo crumbs on top of each pudding cup. Top as desired with candy worms, eyeballs, "tombstone" candy bars, and the like. (If you want to attach candy eyes or chocolate chips to peanut butter cups or other items, use a small dab of frosting, or I had decent luck attaching them with a brush of corn syrup.) Enjoy!
Notes
- Whipped cream vs. Cool Whip: Homemade whipped cream works well in this recipe and will be less sweet than Cool Whip. If you want to go the homemade route but still want that extra sweetness, add 1-2 Tablespoons of powdered or granulated sugar to the cream as it whips.
- Ingredient amounts: This is really flexible. Most dirt cup recipes call for a full 8 ounces of Cool Whip per a 3.9 ounce box of chocolate pudding. We personally prefer the creamier and more chocolate-rich flavor of less cream and more pudding, but this is totally up to you. As is perhaps obvious based on the ingredient list, it will be delicious literally no matter what.
- Oreos in vs. on top of pudding: Also, many dirt cup recipes call for incorporating some of the Oreo crumbs into the pudding mixture. This is just personal preference!Â