Cooking No. 10: Boo Cups

In college, my good friend E. introduced me to the best Halloween dessert ever: Boo Cups. I’d never had one of these amazing little creations until my sophomore year, but now the season just doesn’t seem right without them! Boo Cups are to Halloween what Peeps are to Easter – a delicious sweet you can only eat once a year for fear your teeth will rot out. Oh yes, they are that good.

Bert’s coworker invited us over for a Pumpkin Party last weekend (where Bert carved his first pumpkin ever), so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to introduce Boo Cups to the NEPA crowd. (Interested? You can find the recipe here on the Kraft website.)

They are super easy to make. First, mix the instant pudding. The official recipe calls for only chocolate, but I always split it up into half chocolate, half vanilla. Trust me: Boo Cups are not lacking in the sugar department. I’ve found the vanilla makes them a bit more palatable for the “older than 5” crowd and adds a nice color contrast, as well.

Next, mix in half a tub of Cool-Whip (or “whipped topping,” if you go the Brand X route like me. ;) and 3/4 cup of crushed Oreos. (No Brand X on the Oreos. No one can match the yumminess of the real thing.) If you use both chocolate and vanilla pudding, make sure you split the Cool-Whip between the two, (i.e. a quarter tub in each bowl). I usually only put Oreos into the chocolate pudding, but again – up to you. ;)

Set the pudding aside and lay out twelve small cups. Sprinkle more crushed Oreos into each one. Divide the pudding between the cups - layering, if you're using multiple flavors - and top with more Oreos. (Can you ever have enough Oreos? No, I don’t think so. ;)

Finally, divide your remaining Cool-Whip into twelve “ghosts” on the cup of each pudding cup. This part always makes me laugh because the ghosts on the Kraft website look so perfect while mine always come out…well, blobby, for lack of a better word. (I'm sure they'd look neater if you piped them on.) Each ghost gets a pair of chocolate chip eyes and you’re done! The recipe says to use miniature chocolate chips, which I never have because they never go on sale, so I just substitute the regular ones for a more “googly-eyed” look. But they are yummy either way.

Unfortunately, transporting Boo Cups is not nearly as easy as making them. Eek! I have this issue every year and every year I forget about it until it’s time to leave the house. You’d think I’d learn.

The party was about 45 minutes away, so I threw the Boo Cups in the freezer to stiffen them for the drive. I tried a bunch of different pans and covered dishes, but the only thing big enough was a metal crate that Bert uses to hold office supplies. Out with the pens! In with the Boo Cups!

I covered the bottom with foil, lined up the cups, and then threw in a roll of saran wrap to wedge them in. (The crate was a wee bit too big. Or maybe I just didn’t make enough cups. ;) And it worked! The Boo Cups were a little melty by the time we arrived, but we put them straight in the fridge and they were perfect by the time dessert rolled around. Success!

Mmmm… Make sure you give them a try! And Happy Halloween!