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Halloween dirt cups are an easy, make-ahead dessert made with the most delicious homemade chocolate pudding and dark chocolate Oreo crumbs. A fun and spooky Halloween dessert to serve at Halloween parties!
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Pin ItFirst, can we all agree that dirt cups aren’t just for kids?! Kids love to make them, but this rich and creamy dessert is for everyone! Adults love these, especially when made with homemade pudding, which is rich and creamy like a decadent dessert! I can’t stress enough how easy they are to make too.
My friends went crazy over how cute these dirt cups are. I love the added fresh flowers and the shovel spoons are my favorite! These fun treats will be a hit at your next party.
They are great for a Halloween movie night, pumpkin carving party or a vintage Halloween party!
Here’s everything you need to make this fun and festive Halloween dessert!
Halloween Dirt Cup Ingredients
- Chocolate Pudding – I am sharing my recipe for homemade chocolate pudding below. You can also use a pudding mix or pre-made pudding.
- Oreos – Any chocolate cookie will work. I love to use dark chocolate Oreos.
- Belvita Cookies – These are thin and crispy. Milano cookies will work too.
- Chocolate Chips – I melt these to write RIP on the graveyard cookies.
- Edible Flowers – These are to garnish the top of the pudding dirt cups.
How to Make Homemade Chocolate Pudding
I like to make homemade chocolate pudding for my Halloween dirt cups. I make a batch of my favorite chocolate pudding, a recipe that I use year-round, and leave it in the refrigerator overnight and assemble the dirt cups the next day.
We use heavy cream, whole milk, sugar, cornstarch, salt, vanilla extract, and bittersweet chocolate for this recipe. The full recipe is in the recipe card below.
This is a creamy chocolate pudding and very delicious! If you don’t want to take the time to make homemade pudding, you can use store-bought chocolate pudding or instant chocolate pudding.
Recipe Tips
Crush the “Dirt” — Use Oreo cookies as the top layer to create that classic “dirt” effect. Crush them in a food processor, blender, or a ziplock bag with a rolling pin or spoon until they’re fine crumbs. You can also swap Oreos for any dark chocolate cookie or a low-sugar version for a lighter option. Bonus: any leftover crumbs are perfect for making Halloween Oreo balls.
Serve with Style — Use small, elegant glasses to elevate the look, or go for kid-friendly containers if little hands are involved.
Make Ahead — Prep the pudding and cookie crumbs in advance, then assemble right before serving for the freshest texture.
Garnish Creatively — Think beyond gummy worms—mini chocolate pumpkins, edible flowers, or spooky candy toppers add extra charm and personality.
Store — Dirt cups can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days when assembled. The cookies will start to become soggy and lose their crunchy texture.
DIY Cookie Tombstones
To create the cookie tombstones to go in the chocolate dirt cups, we used Belvita cookies. These were perfect because they’re also thin and crispy. You can also use Milano cookies.
Melt chocolate chips in the microwave and then add them to a piping bag.
Cut a very small hole at the end of the piping bag and then pipe RIP on the cookie.
Before adding the cookie to the Oreo crumble, break the bottom off so it fits nicely in the Oreo dirt cup.
Assembling Halloween Dirt Pudding Cups
- Scoop pudding into a small glass. A 4-ounce or 6-ounce glass works great. The amount of pudding you add will vary depending on your glass size.
- Leave room at the top for the Oreo cookie crumbs.
- Add a nice layer of crumbled Oreos over the top of the pudding.
- Wiggle the tombstone into the pudding.
- Add some small edible flowers to the Oreo dirt.
- Serve with a gold mini shovel spoon. We just adore these and they are perfect for a dirt cup dessert! You can buy them here!
Frequently Asked Questions
We suggest making the pudding the night before, crushing the Oreos but keeping them in a tightly sealed container, and then making the tombstone cookies the night before as well. Assemble them on the day of the party so that the cookies are as fresh as possible.
A fun dessert that has been around for years! Dirt cups are made out of chocolate pudding, and crushed chocolate cookies and are commonly decorated with gummy worms and tombstone cookies. They are made to look like you’re eating a cup of dirt, but really it’s a creamy chocolate treat!
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Chocolate Pudding Dirt Cups
Equipment
- Medium Sauce Pan
- Piping Bag
Ingredients
Chocolate Pudding
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup cornstartch
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 6 ounces bitterweet chocolate bar , chopped
Dirt Cups
- 1 package dark chocolate Oreos , crushed
- 1 box Belvita cookies
- 1 cup chocolate chips, melted
Instructions
- Chop the bittersweet chocolate bar and set it aside.
- In a medium saucepan mix the cornstarch, sugar and salt.
- Combine the milk and heavy cream in a measuring cup with a spout.
- Over medium heat, slowly stream in the milk and cream while whisking until it starts to thicken. This part is important as the milk and cream can burn quickly, you have to watch and whisk the entire time until it’s thick.
- Add the chocolate to the mixture and continue to stir.
- Add in the vanilla extract and keep whisking. Once the mixture is thicker and coats the back of a spoon, the pudding is done. Pour into a heat-proof bowl.
- Push saran wrap all the way down so it’s touching the pudding. You want the saran wrap to cover the actual top of the pudding and then put it in the refrigerator.
- Let it cool and thicken for a few hours or overnight.
- Scoop pudding into a small glass. A 4-ounce or 6-ounce glass works great. The amount of pudding you add will vary depending on your glass size.
- Leave room at the top for the Oreo cookie crumble.
- Add a nice layer of crumbled Oreos over the top of the pudding.
- Wiggle the tombstone into the pudding.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
