Gummy Worms in Dirt- Halloween Dessert

Today, I am joined by my guest host Paityn to bring you a gross Halloween treat- gummy worms in dirt cups!  Gummy worms made from Jell-O, and dirt made from cookies and pudding, is an easy and fun addition to any Halloween party.

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For many Earth Day celebrations in Kindergarten I made this dessert with my students.  I always wondered why it signified Earth day, but hey, they were 5 and I was feeding them gummy worms and pudding, so they didn’t question me.  I had never served Worms in Dirt before with homemade gummy worms, and I’m glad I figured out how to do that, as it makes the cups so much more realistic!  It’s an extra step, and one that takes a couple hours of wait time, but it makes for a better looking dessert in the long run.  If you stick the coloured ones from the candy store on top, I won’t judge.

Making this Halloween dessert is super easy and like I said, can easily be done together with kids.  The hardest part of the whole thing is getting the worms out of the straws, so if you have little hands helping you, you might want to spray the inside of the straws with non-stick spray to make removal a bit easier.  It makes the straws greasy and a bit harder to handle though, so it’s kind of a catch 22. 

When you are ready to serve your dessert, remove the worms at that point, or make sure to keep them covered with plastic wrap if you’re letting them sit for a while.  The gummies get easily dried out I found.  

Gummy Worms

(will make approx. 100 worms)

Ingredients:

• 2 boxes (85 grams each) red Jell-O
• 1 box (85 grams) purple Jell-O
• 2 envelopes (7 grams each) unflavoured gelatin
• 4 cups (960 milliliters) boiling water
• 1 cup (240 milliliters) plain or vanilla yogurt
• 1/2 cup (120 milliliters) cream
• flexible straws

Procedure:

1. Place red, purple and unflavoured gelatin into a medium sized bowl.  Whisk to incorporate the different gelatin crystals together.
2. Slowly add boiling water to mixture and stir until gelatin has dissolved.
3. Add cream and stir until incorporated.
4. Add yogurt and stir until no lumps remain (a whisk will help with this).  Set aside to cool slightly.
5. To prepare straws, pull out the flexible portion of the straw’s neck completely on all of the straws you are using.  Make a bundle with the flexible necks all pointing in the same direction.  Wrap bundle with elastic bands.
6. Place straw bundle into a tall, narrow container, such as a one litre mason jar.  Slowly pour Jell-O mixture into the jar until it is full.
7. Place jar in the fridge for 3-4 hours, or overnight.
8. To remove worms, simply pull straws out of the jar, and squeeze the worms out.
9. If not placing directly into a dirt cup, squeeze worms onto a plate or bowl, and cover with plastic wrap.  Keep refrigerated until ready to use or consume. 

Worms in Dirt Cups

(this will make one serving)

• Gummy worms (see recipe above)
• 1/2 cup (120 milliliters) chocolate mousse recipe here.
• 1/2 cup (120 milliliters) chocolate pudding
• Chocolate rocks
• Oreo cookie crumbs and graham cracker crumbs mixture

Procedure:

1. In a small jar, or cup, fill bottom of container with chocolate mousse, being careful not to touch the sides of the cup until at the bottom.
2. Cover layer of mousse with a layer of cookie crumbs, about 3/4″ thick.
3. Add the chocolate rocks, making sure that they are flush against the side of the cup and can be seen from outside of it.
4. Top off the rocks with the chocolate pudding.
5. Squeeze worms out onto the chocolate pudding.  Repeat until the top of the cup is covered with desired number of worms.
6. Sprinkle additional cookie crumbs if desired.  Serve immediately, or store covered with plastic wrap in the fridge for 2-3 days.  Do not add the worms to the top if you are not serving it immediately.

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