Worms & Dirt

Nope, I don't mean real worms in real dirt. I'm talking about the kid friendly favourite. Chocolate pudding, crushed oreos and gummy worms. I even had this instead of a birthday cake one year. Its so much fun. And now, its gluten free! Not to mention perfect & easy for Halloween - hint, hint.

When I saw that Amy of Simply Sugar and Gluten Free was creating an ebook to raise money for St. Jude's Children's Hospital, this immediately came to mind. Although I've never been to St. Jude's, or any hospital in the States, Children's Hospitals are close to my heart. I've never stayed overnight in one, but I've been to the local one many many times. Between my experiences and those of friends, I know the importance of a good children's hospital.

With that said, I couldn't not enter a recipe. Although it's not the hospital that has helped myself and my friends, I know that St. Jude's does great work. It may not look like a "traditional" worms & dirt, but its got all the flavours, and you can make it whatever you want it to be!

This post is also linked to Slightly Indulgent Mondays, where Amy has a giveaway! Don't miss out!  Its also linked to Friday Foodie Fix.

Without any further adieu, here is my recipe for Worms & Dirt, the childhood fave.

Worms & Dirt

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup cocoa

2 tbsp cornstarch

1/8 tsp salt

2 cups milk

2 egg yolks

2 tsp vanilla

Chocolate cookies, crushed

Gummy worms

Steps

1. Combine sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt in a large saucepan.

2. In a bowl, combine milk and slightly beaten egg yolks.

3. Slowly stir liquid into sugar mixture.

4. Over medium heat, cook, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and boils. Continue to boil and stir for 1 minute.

5. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

6. Pour into bowl, cool and chill.

7. Once chilled, take 1/4 of the chilled pudding, and stir in desired amount of crushed cookies. Place pudding in serving bowl, sprinkle extra crushed cookies on top, and serve with gummy worms. Repeat until all servings are made.

8. Enjoy!

Bonus Marks: Make your own gummy worms, or creepy crawlies!

Gummy Worms

Slightly adapted from Gluten Free in SLC

Ingredients

1 package unflavoured gelatin

1 small package flavoured gelatin (10 g, any flavour will do)

1/8 cup sugar

1/4 cup ice water

Steps

1. In a microwave safe large liquid measuring cup, stir together gelatins and sugar. Add ice water and stir.

2. Let mixture sit for a few minutes, until thick.

3. Microwave for about 1 minute, or until foaming. Carefully pour into each mold*.

4. Put the molds in freezer for 10 minutes, up to overnight.

5. Enjoy!

*Note: Be very very careful, as mixture will be hot. For molds, use whatever you have, either a distinct shape, or mini muffin tin, as I used.

Hehe, aren't they pretty?

Although not quite "worms" the little disks are perfect for a more grown-up, less creepy worms & dirt. They're also easy to cut into a spiraling worm, if you want.

And, they sit beautifully on a plate!

Or jousting with a mini-whisk? I'm not sure. It is Halloween after all!

Now, of course you could make this using any crushed chocolate cookie, with a pudding mix and packaged gummy worms, but sometimes its nice to make it all (or almost all =D) from scratch! Enjoy this treat! Its a wonderful dessert any time of year.

xoxo

Lauren