I’m always looking for fun little desserts for the girls to help with in the kitchen.  I saw these at BakedBree and thought they would be great to try with Gracie & Abigail.  And, I was right.  Both girls really enjoyed making them (and eating them).  I think they turned out really cute, but both Steve & I agreed they’d probably be better with brownie bites rather than the Cocoa Puffs.  Something about the flavor of the cereal was a little overpowering.  The pudding did something to the candy corn that made them extra chewy and extra delicious.  I definitely think I’ll keep this on my list of treats to make again next year (with brownie bites).  Here’s the recipe the way we made it:

Candy Corn Parfaits

1 box of instant Chocolate Fudge pudding

1 box of instant French Vanilla pudding (get French Vanilla if you can find it because the color is a lot better for this recipe)

Cocoa Puffs (about two cups)

Cool Whip

Candy Corn

Orange gel color (from the cake decorating aisle)

Orange Sprinkles

Mix up the puddings according to package directions.  Stick the chocolate pudding in the fridge to set for a few minutes.  Split the vanilla pudding into two bowls.  Mix the orange food coloring into one of the bowls until you get the color orange you’re going for.  (Just a note here:  if you use regular food coloring and not the cake-decorating gel, I don’t think you can ever achieve bright pumpkin orange…the best you can hope for is kind of a pinkish orange…think Tequila Sunrise orange instead of pumpkin orange.  So, if you’re using regular food coloring, don’t keep adding in more and more coloring hoping to get true orange, because I don’t think it will ever happen.  Trust me, I know this from experience!  )  Then, stick the yellow (French Vanilla) and the orange puddings in the fridge for a couple of minutes so they’ll set, too.

Then, just layer the ingredients into your dessert cup (these square ones came from Target and I really like because they meet the trifecta of cool dishes in my house:  1.  they’re plastic – I have two kids…need I say more  2.  they’re dishwasher safe and 3. they’re cute.)  We layered ours this way…Cocoa puffs, Yellow pudding, cool whip, cocoa puffs & candy corn, chocolate pudding, candy corn, orange pudding, cocoa puffs & candy corn, and finally finished it off with more whipped cream, some sprinkles and a couple of candy corns for decorating.

The girls’ cups ended up looking slightly different from mine.  Gracie didn’t want candy corn or cool whip in hers; Abigail wanted more orange and less yellow (and as much cool whip as would fit).  They really did enjoy making these!