I’m almost bachelorette-partied out. Almost. The past 2 weekends I have been travelling to NYC and Boston to party with my bride-to-be friends and have one more next weekend too. With four weddings to attend this fall, my summer has been full of pre-wedding festivities for these lovely ladies. It’s been so so much fun, but it’s also been difficult at times to continually come up with cute desserts to bring in tow. People aren’t expecting me to show up with inflatables or lingerie, but they know I’m good for party desserts. Particularly boozy ones! So when I was in the baking aisle last week and saw the instant pudding lined up next to the Jello, I had a revelation – if I can make jello with vodka, what about pudding?? Well, ladies and gentlemen, here’s the result – boozy chocolate pudding with brownie shot glasses! Take your shot and eat your shot glass too :)
So yes, you can definitely make instant pudding with vodka, but the result is not exactly the pudding you’re used to. Unlike with jello, the substitution of vodka for half of the milk that’s called for doesn’t result in the same consistency as if you’d used only milk. The pudding didn’t solidify quite as I had hoped, but since the brownies served as little cups, the liquidy pudding was well contained and just as tasty. I opted to use Cupcake’s new line of vodka and chose the Devil’s Food flavor for obvious reasons. The flavor of vodka reminded me more of tootsie rolls than chocolate cake, but it mixed really well with the chocolate pudding and had many of the girls at the party doubting that I actually put vodka into these brownie bites.
I’ve reinvented the shot glass a few times before on the blog – including chocolate covered strawberries and lime rinds – but this version is the tastiest yet. Brownies baked in mini muffin tins serve as the perfect one-bite shot that holds just enough pudding without being overwhelming. You’ll have to take some time to make wells in each of the brownie bites, but putting the pudding together is a cinch and before you know it you’ll have an amazingly delicious party treat that will quickly make you the favorite party guest. With one more bachelorette party to go this summer, I’m definitely going to have to get creative because these will be hard to beat!
Yield: 48 brownie bites
1 box brownie mix (or homemade recipe of your choice)
1 package instant chocolate pudding mix
1-1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup vodka (I used Devil's Food flavor)
- Prepare brownie batter according to package's instructions. Grease mini muffin tins with baking spray and fill wells 3/4 of the way full. You'll have to adjust the baking time for the brownies since you're baking the batter in such smaller shapes. I checked after 10 minutes and most of mine passed the cake tester/toothpick test.
- Let the brownie bites cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack.
- Use the other end of a wooden spoon or spatula to push down the centers of the brownie bites and use your clean fingers to form little wells in each of the brownie bites. Transfer brownies to a cookie sheet and set aside.
- To prepare the pudding, combine the pudding mix, milk, and vodka and whisk for 2 minutes. Transfer to the fridge to set for 2 hours, then pour into brownie wells all the way to the top. (You'll have extra pudding that you can find another use for or just scrap).
- Serve immediately or store covered in the fridge for 1-2 days.
