Tags
dirt cake, family traditions, gummi worms, gummy worms, oreo recipes, summer dessert, summer recipes
It’s summer, finally! Sweltering heat (no complaints here- keep your dark, dreary days of winter), majestic thunderstorms, signs of life manifesting everywhere: baseball, hot dogs, apple pies, and . . . well, you get the picture.
One particular summer quite a while back. the recipe de rigueur was for a dessert called dirt cake. I tried it once and dolled it up a bit and it became my signature Team Mom dish. I brought it to one swim team party and thereafter it was mine to bring to every swim team party. Dirt cake and I became so intertwined that one boy on the team would ask me if I’d brought some whenever he saw me, even if we just ran into each other at the gas station.
As the kids grew older and our lives grew busier in different ways, I didn’t get around to making dirt cake as often. It always seemed like something was missing from summer without one, though, so even if I didn’t get to it until Labor Day, there was always a dirt cake until eventually there wasn’t.
Last summer I revived the recipe for a potluck at work and now it’s mine to make again. I’ve been a dirt cake-making fool for the past several weeks. Now I’m branching out and while making a large one for whatever event I’m attending, I’ll make at least one smaller one to give to someone in need. If you try this, you may see how the “need” develops.
Three "cakes" from one batch.
To be clear, it’s not really dirt and it’s not really cake. And I’m not really a hippie.
I blew your mind just then, didn’t I?
I’d love to give credit where it is due, but I’ve had this recipe for so long, I don’t recall who gave it to me. I’ll just say that I didn’t come up with it, but I’d like to thank the person who did because it has become one of our treasured family traditions.
Dirt Cake
2 packages of Oreo cookies (starts out nicely, doesn’t it?)
1/2 stick margarine
8 ounces cream cheese
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
2 small boxes French vanilla pudding mix
3 1/2 cups milk
12 ounces Cool Whip
Optional: Gummi worms, fake flowers, flower pot, plant trowel.
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Grind cookies in blender or food processor and set aside.
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Cream together margarine, cream cheese, and sugar until smooth.
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In another large bowl, combine pudding mix, milk, and Cool Whip until smooth.
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Combine cream cheese and pudding mixtures and blend thoroughly.
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Layer ingredients in serving dish (8-inch flower pot works well), beginning and ending with cookie mixture.
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Refrigerate overnight.
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Optional: Before serving, add worms and serve with plant trowel.
A smaller dirt cake, for a friend going through a tough time....
...and another for a birthday gift
Personally, I don’t think the Gummi worms are optional. I like the flowers. I haven’t seen that before. Nice.
I puzzled over gummy v. Gummi, but I was too lazy to check it. I’ll bet you did. It’s another reason that I count myself among the Pro-Todd masses. Thanks!
Traditions are good for a reason. In this case, one reason is that the tradition is made out of two bags of oreos. That in itself is reason enough to bring it back
The reply that wants to come out won’t make any sense because I haven’t written the post that it references yet.
I blew my own mind just then.
I’ll go with this instead: I think usually only about a bag and a half of the Oreo cookies make it all the way to the grinding process.
Sounds yummy — I’ll have to give it a try! You removed the calories, of course, didn’t you??
Calories? There are no calories in summer!
Sounds like good stoner food.
The more I get to know you, the more I think I stole your online persona. You really are a hippie, aren’t you?
Um hmmmmm.
Just the ingredient list made me feel full!
Wow!
Wow!
I used to love this in Elementary school! Seriously, Oreos, cream cheese, sugar??! It’s like kid crack.
These days I think I’d die if I ate more than a spoonful. But it would be a beautiful death, to be sure.
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I remember seeing a recipe for this in some magazine from the 70′s…probably Woman’s Day or Family Circle…my aunt used to get those. I’ve never tried it though. The kids would probably think it was neat!
Wendy
Hi WorkingWoman Wendy — I’m working on my first commissioned one. Someone in my office wants to take one to a party on Saturday. I wonder if I can spin this into my next career. Dirt Cakes By The Hipster doesn’t have much of a ring to it, though.