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These fun Halloween Dirt Cups are an easy festive treat! This dirt dessert recipe with chocolate pudding is so cute and delicious. Make this with shortbread cookies and candy and the kids will go wild.

monster decorated cookie in a dirt cup next to a candy corn pumpkin

Easy Halloween Dirt Cups

This Halloween dirt cup recipe is so easy and so much fun to make for parties or just because. I mean, it’s pudding, cookies, and candy – three things I love in dessert recipes! The best part is that it’s an easy no bake dessert.

There is just something SO FREAKING CUTE about Halloween desserts and food, whether it’s eyeballs or spiderwebs or brooms or witches’. When that time of year rolls around, I’m always coming up with fun ideas, and now, with the invention of sugar eyeballs, the cute scary factor is ratcheted up about a million notches.

Dirt pudding cups (or Halloween mud cups as they’re sometimes called) are perfect if you want something fun but not hard to make. I used some shortbread to make monster and mummy decorations for an added twist, and I love how they turned out. They look a little crazy and scary, like Halloween graveyard dirt cups but not at all creepy. Just cute! I love spooky-cute easy desserts.

monster and mummy decorated cookies on a white board

What is Dirt Pudding Made of?

Shortbread cookies – I used Walkers cookies to make the mummies and monsters
White and Green candy melts or almond bark – for the mummies and monsters
Sugar eyeballs
Chocolate pudding mix – to make the dirt cups
Milk – It’s best to use cow’s milk when you make pudding with mix.
Crushed chocolate cookies – the easiest way to crush them is in a food processor.

mummy and monster decorated cookies in dirt cups next to a candy corn pumpkin

How to make Halloween Dirt Cups

Dirt cups: Mix the instant pudding mix and mix with a wire whisk in a large bowl. Spoon the pudding mixture into the bottom of your individual cups. Top the pudding with the crushed chocolate cookies for the dirt layer.
Monster and Mummy Decoration: Melt the candy melts (white for the mummies and green for the monsters). Place the shortbread fingers on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Pipe the melted candy over the cookies (a Ziploc bag or piping bag works great!) and place the candy eyeballs on them. Chill them until the candy coating is set.
Decorating Tip: Instead of making mummies and monsters, you can decorate the cookies to look like gravestones and make graveyard pudding cups! Or make a graveyard dirt cake in a large dish. You can also add your favorite Halloween candy toppings (like pumpkin candy) along with the cookies.

mummy decorated cookie in a dirt cup next to a candy corn pumpkin

Storing and Freezing

Can you freeze dirt pudding? Yes, but freeze the dirt cups without the cookie and candy decorations. To freeze, use freezer-safe containers, and the dirt pudding will keep well in the freezer for up to three months.

Can you freeze the cookies? Yes, once you’ve decorated the shortbread cookies, you can store them in a freezer container and freeze them for up to three months. I like to separate the layers with wax paper so the cookies don’t stick together.

Refrigerator storage: This Halloween dirt cups recipe will keep well in the refrigerator for several days. Cover the dirt cups with plastic wrap and, for best results, don’t add the cookie or candy decorations until you’re ready to serve them

Make this Halloween dirt pudding recipe, and you will get rave reviews from kids and adults alike! Everyone will want some Halloween dirt in a cup -they are the best easy dessert to celebrate Halloween. Enjoy!