Punny Tree Sapling Dirt Puddings for Tu B’shvat

Punny pudding pros:

• It’s no-bake.
• It involves oreos!
• And puns.
• And you eat it with a tiny shovel.

Punny pudding cons:

• The mint. It WILTS.

Indeed it does. Particularly if you store it in the fridge. I learned this the hard way.

Sigh.

Is anyone out there actually aware that you’re supposed to store soft herbs (basil, parsley, cilantro, MINT) the same way you’d store flowers—at room temperature, in a vase or glass filled with cool water?

What the actual heck.

Luckily, I was able to save them! Shortly after I noticed that my mint leaves were wilting (and I mean really, really wilting—like, the leaves were curling up onto themselves and turning a sad purple color), I Googled around and happened upon this helpful article, which informed me that if you give herbs a quick ice bath, you can “shock” them back into their original, unwilted form, healthy greenish hue and all.

I gave it a try, and lo and behold, it actually WORKED. Sort of. The problem is, after you “shock” your mint, it’s still sopping wet. Which, for my personal purposes, wasn’t so great. But I managed to pluck out a few of the most revived leaves and get to work unfurling and drying them carefully on a dish towel.

In other news, if you don’t already spend your Sunday afternoons bathing and drying mint leaves, individually, by hand…then you, my friend, are sorely missing out.

This is all to say…

…that these dirt puddings would be an excellent dessert option for Earth Day, a picnic, or whatever tu b’shevat plans you’ve got in the works. Or, you know, they can BE your plans. That works, too. I should also mention that the entire project doubles as a fun activity to do with kids.

This is also to say: Don’t put mint in the fridge.

Tutorial below!

Punny Tree Sapling Dirt Pudding with Chocolate Rocks

What You’ll Need:

• 2 cups cold milk
• 1 (3.9-ounce) package instant chocolate pudding 
• Serving cups
• 1 1/2 cups crushed Oreos
• 1 package candy rocks
• 1 bunch fresh mint sprigs, stems attached
• Popsicle sticks
• Mini alphabet stamp set
• Ink pad

What You’ll Need:

1. Make the pudding according to the package directions. (Likely, you’ll whisk together the milk and instant pudding until the mixture has totally dissolved, then let stand five minutes.)
2. Spoon pudding into small cups, filling each one about half of the way full.
3. Top with crushed oreos, candy rocks, and a small sprig of mint, trimmed to the height of your liking (this is your “tree sapling”!).
4. Using your alphabet stamps and ink pad, create punny messages on each of the popsicle sticks, making sure to keep the puns relatively short (you’ll lose some of the stick real estate when you plunge it into the pudding, after all).
5. Serve with mini shovels!