Worms in Dirt Chocolate Pudding

Worms in dirt chocolate pudding is a Halloween classic for a reason: it's delightfully ghoulish and just so happens to be incredibly delicious! Get in on the fun with our from-scratch recipe made with real chocolate milk.

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Dotdash Creative
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Updated February 17, 2021
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This post was written in partnership with America’s milk brands and farm families.

Worms and dirt aren’t necessarily words that you see associated with food. But when Halloween comes around, all bets are off when it comes to creating spooky food for the kids!

If you've yet to make worms in dirt chocolate pudding, it's super easy. And here we're making them extra chocolatey thanks to a from-scratch pudding made with real chocolate milk.

To assemble, you simply crumble chopped chocolate sandwich cookies (the dirt!) on top of the pudding and place a few gummy worms into the crumbs. Delightfully gross!

Make Ahead Strategies

When making pudding from scratch, you need to let it cool in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours before serving, but letting it chill overnight is really best.

For this recipe, you can make the pudding up to 5 days ahead of time. You can even crumble the cookies in a resealable bag and leave the crumbs in the bag until you’re ready to make the desserts. Just assemble the worms in "dirt" right before serving them!

Prep for Chilling

When making pudding from scratch you will end up with “pudding skin” on top of each cup unless you place a piece of parchment or wax paper on the warm pudding before chilling it. Some folks like the pudding skin and find the paper too fussy, while others live for super smooth pudding. You decide which route suits you best!

What's the Best Chocolate to Use?

When making chocolate pudding from scratch, pick your favorite chocolate to eat! If you like your chocolate sweeter, pick a milk chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate. If you prefer a less sweet dessert, go with a bittersweet chocolate or one with a higher cacao percentage.

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Worms in Dirt Chocolate Pudding

Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 5 mins
Total Time 20 mins
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

  • For the pudding:
  • 2 tablespoons natural unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 cups cold chocolate milk
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 large egg
  • 4 ounces chopped chocolate (about 3/4 cup)
  • To assemble:
  • 10 ounces chocolate vanilla sandwich cookies, about 20 cookies
  • 12 gummy worms

Method

  1. Combine pudding ingredients:

    Place the cocoa powder, cornstarch, chocolate milk and salt in a large saucepan and stir to incorporate the dry ingredients into the milk mixture.

  2. Cook the pudding:

    Cook on high heat until the mixture starts to boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until the mixture starts to thicken, about 3 to 5 minutes.

  3. Temper the egg:

    Place an egg in a large bowl and beat it with a whisk. Slowly drizzle a little bit of the hot chocolate mixture into the bowl with the egg, whisking continuously. Continue to slowly add the chocolate mixture, whisking well, until you've incorporated all of it. The mixture should still be warm.

  4. Fold in the chocolate:

    Add the chopped chocolate and stir until the chocolate has completely melted.

  5. Chill:

    Divide the pudding into four cups. If you don’t want a skin to form, place a piece of parchment paper on top of the surface of the pudding. (Omit if you don't mind the pudding skin.)

    Chill for 3 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.

  6. Prepare the "dirt":

    Place the chocolate vanilla sandwich cookies in a large gallon resealable bag. Using a rolling pin, crush the cookies into crumbs.

  7. Assemble: Divide the cookie crumbs over the four pudding cups. Place three gummy worms into the cookie crumb layer, making sure to “bury” a little bit of the gummy worm end as if the worm is coming out of the dirt. Serve immediately. Enjoy with a glass of real dairy milk!