Whenever I see dirt cups, I am reminded of The Hearse Song we used to sing as children. Although there are dozens of different versions of the words (which originated sometime in the early 1900’s), and the actual author is anonymous, these are the ones I remember:

Never laugh when a hearse goes by
Since you may be the next one to die
They wrap you up in a bloody sheet
And put you in a hole 6 feet deep.

The worms crawl in
The worms crawl out
The worms play pinochle on your snout…

The tune to The Hearse Song is catchy, so you can sing it during the 15 minutes or so it takes you to assemble these Bloody Dirt Cups which children seem to adore over every other Halloween treat. You may notice, too, that adults eat them grudgingly “so they don’t go to waste.” These Bloody Dirt Cups have a surprise layer of raspberry jam (blood), and are a “must have” on the Halloween BOO-ffet table. So get those ghouls and goblins together – they are easy enough for kids and require no cooking.

8 Dirt Cups

4 cups milk
2 3 oz. packages chocolate instant pudding mix
40 chocolate fudge sandwich cookies
1 cup raspberry jam, (about)
Gummy worms
Cocoa powder

1. Pour the milk into a blender container.
2. Add the pudding mix and process for 30 seconds.
3. Remove the lid and scrape down the sides of the blender container.
4. Process for an additional 30 seconds or until the mixture is smooth.
5. Immediately pour the pudding into a bowl, scraping the sides with a rubber scraper to get every bit.
6. Place the bowl of pudding in the refrigerator while you crush the fudge sandwich cookies.
7. Place the sandwich cookies in a gallon-size Ziploc-type bag.
8. Seal the bag and crush the cookies with a rolling pin or other heavy object until they are finely crushed.
9. Pour the crushed cookies into a bowl.
10. Set out 8 9-12 ounce clear plastic cups.
11. Scoop a thin layer of pudding on the bottom of each cup.
12. Top with a layer of cookie crumbs, then spread with a tablespoon of raspberry jam. Repeat the layers ending with crumbs (dirt) on top.
13. Sift a tablespoon or two of cocoa powder on a plate; roll the gummy worms in the cocoa to make them look dirty.
14. Decorate the puddings with the worms so it looks like they are crawling in and out.
15. Decorate the puddings with gummy worms.
16. Refrigerate until chilled through.

Amount Per Serving
Calories 293 Calories from Fat 61
Percent Total Calories From: Fat 16% Protein 6% Carb. 78%

Nutrient Amount per Serving
Total Fat 5 g
Saturated Fat 3 g
Cholesterol 17 mg
Sodium 444 mg
Total Carbohydrate 77 g
Dietary Fiber 0 g
Sugars 18 g
Protein 5 g

Vitamin A 3% Vitamin C 3% Calcium 0% Iron 12%