Dirt Cake Cookies
Dirt Cake Cookies have a soft and rich Oreo and black cocoa cookie base topped with a rich chocolate pudding frosting that’s been enhanced with some Dutch process cocoa powder, and then is topped with Oreo crumbs and a gummy worm! This dirt dessert recipe looks just like the delicious Dirt Cake Cups!
OK so after making these amazing gummy worm dirt cake Crumbl cookies, you’ll want to try my French Silk Pie Cookies which also have a similar delicious chocolate pudding frosting on top! And since you now have black cocoa powder, you can make all the delicious Black Cocoa Powder Recipes including my fudgy Black Cocoa Brownies!
Why This Recipe Works
- Just like dirt cake with gummy worms and Oreos. Try one of these Crumbl dirt cake cookies and you’ll instantly think of your childhood and eating fun gummy worm dirt cake! Complete with the Oreo cookie base, the chocolate pudding filling, Oreo crumbs and the gummy worm, this dirt cake cookie recipe has it all!
- Soft Oreo cookie. I’m obsessed with the Oreo cookie in this recipe. It’s my all-time favorite! I use it or a variation of it in as the perfect base in all my delicious Oreo cookie recipes like my (Crumbl Copycat) Chocolate Oreo Cookies and my Crumbl Oreo Chocolate Sandwich Cookies!
Ingredient Notes
- All-Purpose Flour: The amount of flour is important because it will affect how much the cookies spread. So be sure to do that extra 2 tablespoons!
- Black Cocoa Powder: Yes you do want black cocoa powder! You can buy it online. It makes a bit difference. It doesn’t taste or look anything like other cocoa powders.
- Oreo Crumbs: Keep the cream filling in the Oreos when crushing them. You can use a food processor or place the Oreos in a ziplock bag and use a rolling pin to crush them. I use regular Oreos not double stuffed Oreos.
- Instant Chocolate Pudding Mix: This is the dry packets of instant chocolate pudding. And be sure it’s instant! My sister made this filling using a cook and serve and it didn’t thicken!
- Heavy Cream: If the heavy cream is extra cold, it will whip up better in the chocolate pudding frosting.
- Dutch Process Cocoa Powder: Adding some extra dutch process cocoa powder to the chocolate pudding mix frosting will give it a richer chocolate flavor.
- Gummy Worms: It wouldn’t be a traditional dirt dessert recipe without the gummy worms! Adding the gummy worm on top makes these look just like the dirt cake with worms!
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Cream wet ingredients. To make the dirt cake cookie dough, add the butter, brown sugar and white sugar to a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix until uniform, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
- Add the dry ingredients. Add the flour, black cocoa powder, 2 1/2 cups of the Oreo crumbs, baking powder, baking soda, and the salt. Mix until just combined.
- Form into dough balls, roll, and bake. Using a 1/4 cup, portion into dough balls. Roll each ball in crushed Oreos. Place 6 dough balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Gently press down on the cookies with your palm to create thick disks. Bake at 365°F for 10-12 minutes. Remove when the edges are set and the centers are soft but not shiny. Let cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make the chocolate pudding frosting. Add the dry chocolate instant pudding mix, cold heavy cream, cold milk, powdered sugar, dutch process cocoa powder, and the vanilla extract to a stand mixer bowl with the whisk attachment or a large mixing bowl (using a hand mixer). Beat until smooth and thickened. Store in the fridge until ready to use.
- Assemble the dirt cake cookies with frosting and gummy worms! Place the frosting in a pastry back or ziplock bag with the corner sniped off. Pipe the mousse on the tops of the cookies. Sprinkle with Oreo cookie crumbs and place a gummy worm on top! Enjoy!
Recipe Tips
Some cookies may have uneven edges. To fix this, use a very large round biscuit cutter or cookie cutter and immediately after removing the cookies from the oven, gently use the cutter in a circular motion around the cookies to tuck in the edges (think hula hoop motion). We don’t want to cut the cookie. We just want to make the cookies uniformly circle before they set.
Double check to make sure you are using a dry chocolate instant pudding mix. If you have a different type, the pudding frosting won’t thicken enough to stay on top of the cookies.
Don’t over mix the cookie dough. This dough will look really dry, but once you touch it, it isn’t! If you over mix, it will get tough and won’t bake as well.
Do not over bake the dirt cookies! The cookies will continue to bake up while they cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. When it comes down to it, removing the cookies too early is better than too late.
You can use a hand mixer for the pudding frosting, but you’ll probably want a stand mixer for the cookie dough since it’s thick.
Make Ahead, Storing, and Freezing
The mousse can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days.
Enjoy cookies chilled or around room temperature.
Leftover cookies should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
My post on Freezing Cookie Dough covers everything about storing cookie dough, freezing cookie dough, and baking frozen cookie dough! My Freezing Cookies post then covers tips and tricks on how to freeze baked cookies.
Recipe FAQs
Yes they do! If you’ve put the chocolate pudding frosting on top, then these Crumbl dirt cake cookies need to be stored in the fridge. If you have Oreo cookies that you haven’t topped yet, those can be stored at room temperature.
Dirt cake is a cake made with Oreo crumbs and a pudding filling. It is often made in cups and layered with the Oreo crumbs and the pudding mixture. It is called dirt cake or dirt cake cups because the Oreo crumbs look like dirt!
Nope! If you used chocolate pudding that is already pudding, it won’t work with the mixture you are making. If you look at the recipe, you are adding the cream, milk, sugar, dutch process cocoa powder and the chocolate pudding mix dry into a bowl and whipping that up. It won’t whip up the same if the pudding is already in pudding form.
This happened to my sister! Double check to make absolutely sure that you are using a dry instant pudding mix. My sister happened to grab a cook and serve version and it didn’t thicken like a dry instant pudding mix would.
More Oreo Dessert Recipes
- Oreo Ice Cream Cake
- Oreo Donuts
- Fudgy Oreo Brownies
- Crumbl Oreo Birthday Cake Cookies
- Oreo Cake Pops
Dirt Cake Cookies
Ingredients
Oreo Cookie Base
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter - softened to room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar - packed
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour - about 450 grams
- 1 cup black cocoa powder
- 3 1/4 cups Oreo crumbs - divided, don't remove the white filling, crush the entire oreo (I used regular, not double stuf)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
Chocolate Pudding Frosting
- 3.9 oz INSTANT chocolate pudding
- 2 cups heavy cream - cold
- 1/3 cup 2% milk - cold
- 2/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Toppings
- gummy worms
- Oreo crumbs
Instructions
Oreo Cookie Base
- Preheat oven to 365°F. line baking sheet with parchment, set aside.
- In bowl of a stand mixer cream the butter, brown sugar, and sugar on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
- Add the flour, black cocoa powder, 2 ½ cups Oreo crumbs, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix to combine.
- Portion the dough into 1/4 cup sized balls. Roll each ball in the remaining ¾ cup of crushed Oreo crumbs. Place 6 balls of dough on the baking sheet. Using the palm of your hand, press down on each cookie dough ball just slightly. Bake for 10 -12 minutes, the edges will appear set but the centers should appear soft.
- Remove from oven; some cookies may have uneven edges. To fix this, use a very large round biscuit cutter or cookie cutter and immediately after removing the cookies from the oven, gently use the cutter in a circular motion around the cookies to tuck in the edges (think hula hoop motion). We don’t want to cut the cookie. We just want to make the cookies uniformly circle before they set.
- Remove from the oven and let cool on pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Chocolate Pudding Frosting
- In a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment) add the dry chocolate instant pudding mix, heavy cream, milk, powdered sugar, Dutch process cocoa powder, and vanilla extract. Using a hand mixer, mix until smooth and thickened, about 1 minute. The mousse can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days.
Assembly
- When ready to assemble transfer the frosting to a pastry bag (or a ziplock bag with the edge snipped off) and pipe the mousse on top of each cookie. Sprinkle oreo crumbs and a gummy worm on top of the mousse. Enjoy cookies chilled or around room temperature. Leftover cookies should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
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11 Comments on “Dirt Cake Cookies”
Is there a cake version of this recipe? We LOVE the cookies but would like to try a cake.
Chantelle, there is not currently a cake version but I LOVE that idea! For now, here are a couple of ideas; use the frosting from this recipe and spread it over this chocolate cake: https://saltandbaker.com/chocolate-cake-with-peanut-butter-frosting/ OR these Black Cocoa Brownies for that Oreo flavor: https://saltandbaker.com/black-cocoa-brownies-recipe/. Thanks for your review!
Hey Whitney,
Where is the milk in the frosting instructions?
I added it in. Thanks for pointing that out, Laura!
These are so good! I unfortunately wasn’t able to get the black cocoa before I made them so I used hersey’s special dark instead and it was still delicious. I ran out of frosting before frosting them all but perhaps I laid it on a bit thick. Thanks for the yummy recipe, also I don’t know how you make everything look so neat, it looked like a sugar cocoa bomb went off by the time I was finished… worth it
So glad you loved the cookies Emily! haha, sugar cocoa bombs are the best! Glad you went ahead and made the cookies with the special dark cocoa and that they turned out! Thanks for coming back and leaving a review.
I’m not sure how I only put 3 stars or how to fix it, I meant to put 5
These cookies were delicious! It had the best consistency and the mousse topping was perfect. Kids have these cookies a 10/10
Just made these today and they were a hit so far. Going to take the rest into work tomorrow night. And I am going to make the recipe dairy free for my youngest who has a milk allergy will update once those are done.
I was so excited to try this but I really think there is a better way to get the same cookie using a different cookie recipe. This one is so crumbly and falls apart not something great for kids. If others have not had the same problem let me know perhaps I did something wrong
This dough shouldn’t be crumbly. So something must have been off. It’s hard to say what you may have done differently without me being there in the kitchen with you!