Ghosts in the Graveyard

Whenever I'm down, I find solace in the kitchen. I also enjoy the company of children, especially those close to me. So I had a perfect day planned whereby Kaia would come over and we would make Ghosts in the Graveyard. I first saw this dessert at a Halloween party at work back in Dayton and thought it looked really cool. Then I tasted it and I was hooked. I knew it would be something the whole family would love: chocolate pudding, Cool Whip and Oreo cookies. What's not to love?

I made this a couple of times for Kaia's birthday parties back when Gen lived in a small apartment in Montalvo and we had the parties over here. When they moved into their place over in the Ventura Keys, birthdays moved over to their house and the Ghosts in the Graveyard took a vacation. This year I decide Kaia was old enough and had her over and we made it together. This is such a great recipe to make with kids. It calls for 15 crushed Oreos -- although you really need at least double that. To crush them I put them in a freezer bag and hit it with my rolling pin. Kaia and I had a blast making our OReo "dirt."

Then you just mix the Jell-O instant chocolate pudding with Cool Whip along with half the crushed cookies. You put the other half of the crushed cookies on top, making the "dirt" for the graveyard. I use Pepperidge Farms Milano cookies to make headstones. Kraft used to use Milanos too, but then they switched to Nabisco Cameo cookies, which nobody likes, so we still use the Milanos. You make ghosts with whipped cream and decorate with candy corn and pumpkins. It's so tasty and so much fun.

This recipe is available at the Kraft Foods site

Ghosts in the Graveyard

2 four-serving Jell-O Instant chocolate pudding
3 cups cold milk
1 12 pounce container Cool Whip (be careful because it generally comes in 8-ounce containers)
15 Oreo cookies, crushed (I use at least twice that)
Candy corn
Candy pumpkins

Mix the pudding mix with the milk for two minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes then add 3 cups Cool Whip along with half of the crushed Oreos. Spread in a 9x13 inch pan and sprinkle the rest of the "dirt" on top. Let refrigerate for an hour. Right before serving decorate with whipped cream ghosts, cookies with initials (RIP BOO) the candy corn and the pumpkins.