Marco Death Pudding 01

This is Bryn's first attempt at making Marco Death Pudding, on August 30th, 2013.

Recipe Used

Ingredients:

• 1 15-ounce package vanilla sandwich cookies (you can also substitute graham crackers)
• 1 3.9-ounce package butterscotch instant pudding
• 2 cups cold milk
• 8 ounces whipped topping (like Cool Whip)
• Gummy bones (you can also substitute candy or marshmallow bones)
• 8 Swedish Fish (or any fish-shaped candy)
• 8 toothpicks
• orange bobas (for the monster eggs)
• chocolate 'rocks' (for the rocks the cadets stand on for safety)

Directions:

• Place the vanilla sandwich cookies in a large zip-top plastic bag, and use a rolling pin to crush them into small pieces. Don't worry about removing the cream filling before putting the cookies in the bag – at first they will clump together, but as you continue to crush them, the cream will blend with the cookies and you won't even notice it. Continue to crush the cookies in the bag until they are in fine crumbs.
• Next, make the pudding. Pour the dry pudding mix into a large bowl, then add the cold milk. Whisk everything together until all of the dry pudding dissolves and it's smooth and free of lumps. Let the pudding sit for about 5 minutes, until it thickens and is no longer liquid. If it has the delightfully gloppy texture of pudding, you're ready to go on.
• Add the whipped topping and approximately half of the cookie crumbs. You don't have to measure, just eyeball half the bag and pour it in.
• Gently stir everything together until the streaks of whipped topping disappear, and the cookies are well-mixed into the pudding.
• Divide the pudding mixture evenly between eight cups – each should hold a little over 1/2-cup of pudding.
• Tap the cups on the countertop a few times to level the pudding, then insert a few gummy bones into the pudding and press them down a little so that they're embedded.
• Pour the cookie crumbs over the pudding and gummy bones so that the entire top is covered with "sand." Smooth it into an even layer with your hands, and then add a few more gummy bones sticking half-out of the "sand".
• Finally, stick a toothpick into the candy fish and leave "Marco's Staff" lying forlornly in the "sand". :D

Pictures

File:Wait.jpg

• I think half the cookies added into the mix is too much - I barely had enough cookies for the top of the pudding cups, and I only ended up with 6 cups when the recipe advertised 8.
• I used the banana cream pudding because I liked the shade of yellow (butterscotch looked too dark and I wanted something other than plain vanilla), but I didn't realize how much lighter in color it would get once the whipped cream is mixed it - I think next time I'll try butterscotch instead - even though it seemed medium/dark brown on the box, I think the whipped cream will lighten it to a nice sandy brown.
• I couldn't find any gummy bones, and I didn't want to make it without something gummy, so I used two worms per cup. If you really want it to match the theme, you can imagine that they are monster worms living under the sand, finishing off any remains that the sand sharks leave behind. ^_~
• The chocolate rocks come in a mixture of colors, but the tan ones blended in too much with the vanilla cookies. I really like how the reddish-brown ones stand out.
• I love love LOVE the way the decorations turned out. It really looks like monster eggs and a rock path! Overall, I am thrilled with how this turned out. :D