Jolly Holiday Dirt Cups

Festive individual chocolate dirt cups layered with creamy pudding, crushed chocolate sandwich cookies, gummy worms, and colorful Christmas decorations. This cheerful no-bake dessert makes about 8 to 10 cups.

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Prep Time 15

Total Time 1

Servings: 8 servings

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

Chocolate Pudding Base

1 package (3.9 ounces) Instant chocolate pudding mix
2 cups Cold whole or 2% milk
8 ounces Frozen whipped topping, thawed

Cookie Layers

15-20 cookies Chocolate sandwich cookies, finely crushed

Decorations

8-10 worms Gummy worms
As needed Red and green sprinkles
As needed Mini candy canes
As needed Red and green candies
As needed Christmas tree or snowflake sprinkles
As needed Small edible-cookie tombstones or holiday candy toppers

Method

Step-by-Step

Whisk the instant chocolate pudding mix and cold milk in a bowl for about 2 minutes, until the mixture thickens. Fold in the thawed whipped topping until evenly combined and smooth.
Crush the chocolate sandwich cookies in a food processor or in a sealed bag. Keep a few small coarse pieces among the crumbs for a realistic dirt-like texture.
Spoon a layer of the chocolate pudding mixture into clear 6- to 8-ounce cups. Add a layer of crushed cookies and tuck in one gummy worm if using.
Repeat the pudding and cookie layers until the cups are filled, finishing with a generous layer of cookie crumbs on top. Decorate with gummy worms, sprinkles, candies, miniature candy canes, or other holiday toppers.
Refrigerate the assembled cups for at least 1 hour before serving. Add gummy worms just before serving if you want them to stay especially chewy.

Notes

Use clear 6- to 8-ounce cups to show the layers. For a firmer, more cake-like texture, assemble the cups several hours ahead and chill overnight. Coarse cookie pieces mixed with finer crumbs create the most convincing dirt appearance.