Cup of Dirt

Chocolate pudding mixed with miracle whip, layered with crushed oreos and topped with gummy worms. Based on the Jell-O Dirt Cups recipe as promoted in the 1993 Kraft Heinz print campaign, the earliest nationally documented version.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20

Chill Time 1

Ingredients

1 package 3.9 oz Jell-O instant chocolate pudding mix — the original called for Jell-O specifically
2 cups cold whole milk
1 tub 8 oz Cool Whip, thawed — the original called for Cool Whip specifically, not whipped cream
20 chocolate sandwich cookies Oreos or any brand — the original said chocolate sandwich cookies generically
Gummy worms 3 to 4 per cup — Trolli brand is the most historically associated with this dessert
Clear plastic cups 8 to 10 oz size — the transparency is not optional. The entire point of the dirt cup is seeing the layers through the side of the cup. An opaque cup defeats the purpose entirely

Instructions

Make the pudding base

Pour the cold milk into a large bowl. Add the instant chocolate pudding powder and whisk vigorously for 2 minutes until smooth and slightly thickened. Let it sit for 5 minutes to set further. It will look loose at this stage. That is correct.
Fold the Cool Whip into the pudding gently until fully combined and fluffy. Do not beat it. The folding keeps the mixture light. The finished pudding should be pale brown, creamy and hold its shape when spooned. Refrigerate for 10 minutes while you prepare the cookies.

Make the dirt

Place the chocolate sandwich cookies in a zip-lock bag, seal it, and crush with a rolling pin until you have fine, dark crumbs with some slightly larger pieces. You want it to look like dirt, which means not perfectly uniform. Some texture is correct. A food processor produces crumbs that are too fine and too uniform. The rolling pin is more authentic and considerably more satisfying.

Assemble

Spoon a layer of crushed cookie crumbs into the bottom of each clear cup, about 2 tablespoons. Add a layer of the pudding mixture on top, filling the cup about halfway. Add another layer of cookie crumbs. Top with a final layer of pudding, leaving about an inch of space at the top. Finish with a generous layer of cookie crumbs on top so the surface looks convincingly like dirt.
Press 3 to 4 gummy worms into the top layer so they appear to be emerging from or disappearing into the dirt. Some should hang over the edge of the cup. At least one should be buried slightly so only the tail is visible. This is not decoration. This is the entire point.

Chill

Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving. The cookie crumbs will soften slightly against the pudding, which is correct and produces a better texture than crisp crumbs throughout.

Video

Notes

Add the gummy worms no more than 30 minutes before serving if you want them to maintain their texture. Left in the pudding overnight they become soft and slightly melted at the edges, which is authentically unpleasant in exactly the right way for this dessert but is a matter of personal preference.

For the cream cheese version that predates the Jell-O campaign: beat 8 oz of softened cream cheese with half a cup of powdered sugar until smooth, fold in the Cool Whip, then fold in the prepared pudding. The result is denser, richer and more cheesecake-like. It is the Midwestern church cookbook version and it is arguably better than the standard version. Both are historically legitimate.

The flower pot presentation, serving in a small terracotta pot with a fake flower pressed into the top, was a popular party variation from the same era and is equally authentic. It photographs dramatically and is the version to make if you are serving this at a gathering and want people to take photographs of it before eating it, which they will.