Earth Day is just around the corner, on April 22. It’s a special day to learn about the magnificent planet that is our home, and to learn ways we can help protect the Earth and keep it clean and healthy. Since every celebration is more fun with a treat, in this Kids Can Cook blog post we’re making Dirt Cups!
Dirt Cups are simple to prepare. It’s as easy as mix, layer, garnish. The recipe is in the cookbook Celebrating 100 Years of Jell–O, and it’s the perfect dessert for any day of the week, and especially on Earth Day.
Dirt Cups
Makes 8 – 10 small servings
What You Need:
- 1 16-ounce package chocolate sandwich cookies (like Oreos)
- 2 cups cold milk
- 1 3.4-ounce package instant chocolate pudding
- 1 8-ounce tub whipped topping, thawed [I used only half a tub.]
- 8 – 10 7-ounce reusable clear cups or small clear dessert dishes
- Gummy worms for garnish [I chose the two-headed kind. Ick—haha!]
What You Do:
- Using a rolling pin, crush cookies in a zipper-lock plastic bag (or ask a grown-up to help you use a food processer, pulsing on and off until cookies are coarsely crushed).
- Pour milk in to a large bowl. Add pudding mix. Beat with a mixer 2 minutes. Using a spoon, gently stir the whipped topping and ¾ cup of the crushed cookies into the pudding.
- Place about 1 tablespoon of the crushed cookies in the bottom of each cup. Next, fill the cups ¾ full with pudding mixture. Top with another tablespoon of crushed cookies. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes. Garnish your dirt cups with gummy worms and serve with “dirt shovels” (spoons).
Variation: Sand Cups
Use 1 12-ounce package of vanilla wafers in place of the chocolate sandwich cookies. Use vanilla pudding in place of chocolate pudding. Garnish with Swedish fish.
More variations!
I was hunting around the internet for ideas for alternate garnishes. Here are just some of the ideas out there. You can let your imagination go!
- Flower Pots: plastic or candy flowers
- Construction Site Cups: small construction toys and rock candy
- Dino Cups: small toy dinosaurs or gummy dinosaurs
- Ghosts in the Graveyard dirt cups: candy pumpkins, gummy worms, and headstones made of Pepperidge Farms Milano cookies.
- Beach Cups (This one is my favorite!): Pour about ¼ cup blue Jell-o (prepared according to package directions) in the bottom of the cups and let the jello set in the refrigerator; this will be your bottom—or ocean—layer. After the Jell-O is set, top it with prepared vanilla or banana pudding; next sprinkle the pudding with crushed vanilla wafers and decorate with paper umbrellas.
How will you garnish your dirt cups?
I hope you have a happy Earth Day! I hope you find at least one new and simple way to help keep our planet clean and safe. And I hope you love making and eating Dirt Cups, because they’re so yummy! Ciao for now!
Review by Anne
