S'mores Pudding Shots
Instant chocolate pudding, vodka, and graham crumbs in a cup. Camp dessert for adults, no fire required.
- calories
- 130
- weight
- 1.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 87
- protein
- 2 g
- serves
- 12, scales
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 0 min
- total time
- 15 min
- water
- 360 ml cold
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dessert
- Cooler only
- No cook
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Nut free
- Real dishes
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Instant chocolate pudding mix | 1 box (3.9 oz) | instant, not cook-and-serve |
|---|---|---|
| Whole milk powder | 1/2 cup | stands in for cold milk; no jug to keep cold |
| Cold water | 1 1/2 cups | straight from the cooler |
| Vodka | 1/2 cup | marshmallow or vanilla flavored if you have it |
| Dry whipped topping mix | 1 envelope | Dream Whip style, whips with cold water |
| Graham cracker crumbs | 1/2 cup | |
| Mini marshmallows | 1/2 cup | |
| Milk chocolate bar | 1 bar | broken into small pieces |
Method
- Whisk the milk powder into the cold water in a bowl until no lumps float. Do this first. Adding powder to pudding never works.
- Add the pudding mix and whisk hard for two minutes. It should thicken enough to hold a line from the whisk.
- Whisk in the vodka. It will loosen up again. Keep going until it is smooth, about another minute.
- Set the bowl in the cooler for ten minutes while you whip the topping mix with cold water per its package.
- Fold the whipped topping into the pudding. Fold, do not beat, or you lose the air.
- Spoon into small cups. Top each with graham crumbs, a few marshmallows, and a piece of chocolate.
- Back in the cooler for ten minutes, then serve. Add the crumbs at the last minute if you are holding them longer.
This is a fridge recipe adapted to a cooler, and two swaps do the work. Whole milk powder plus cold water replaces the jug of milk, so nothing spoils if the ice runs low. Dry whipped topping mix replaces Cool Whip, which is a frozen product and a bad bet three days into a trip.
The alcohol is why chilling matters. Vodka interferes with the starch that sets instant pudding, so the mix stays looser than it would at home. Keep the ratio at roughly four parts liquid to one part vodka and give it real cooler time. Push the booze higher and you get chocolate soup in a cup.
Marshmallows are usually made with gelatin and graham crackers are wheat, so this is not vegetarian or gluten-free. Read your own boxes if that matters to anyone in camp.
Packing
Pudding mix, milk powder, and topping mix ride in their sealed packets. Crush grahams at home into a bag so you are not doing it on a picnic table. Vodka goes in a plastic flask, not glass. Shooter cups nest inside each other and weigh nothing.
Variations
- Swap the vodka for Irish cream or a coffee liqueur and cut the water by a couple tablespoons.
- Toast the marshmallows on a stick and drop them on hot, if you have a fire going anyway.
- Leave the alcohol out entirely and add two extra tablespoons of water. Kids get dessert, adults get theirs from the flask.
https://campfirefoodie.com/smores-pudding-shots-recipe