Groundhog Day Goodies

Did anybody else see this idea in the latest issue of FamilyFun magazine (page 30)? I thought these Punxsutawney Phil pudding cups looked really cute. I already had some pudding mix and a bag of mini Oreos on hand that I had gotten when things were on sale of couple of weeks ago. (Mia has been wanting to make dirt cups, and we haven't done it yet.) Then, I picked up the Milano cookies yesterday while Logan and I were doing our weekly Kroger run. They were 1/2 off, so I figured that it was meant to be. Mine didn't come off quite as nicely as the magazine photos, but truly what recipe ever does? Also, I was a few days behind schedule, so what difference did it make at that point if they were not perfect.

I did make a couple of changes. The first couple were just common sense in my opinion. Instead of store-bought pudding cups which taste like what? Really, I am asking you because I don't know what they are supposed to taste like, it's a flavor I can't quite place, but it is surely not chocolate. Also, I make my pudding with whole milk. I know, I know, all you health-conscious types are going to hate me for saying that, but it makes the best pudding, hands down. The cookies crumbs are the mini Oreos, which I put in a baggie and crushed up with the base of a metal water bottle, not the chocolate wafers suggested by the magazine. Again, why would I purchase something that tastes like paper. Oreos are not exactly healthy, so I buy them only about once per year, but really, wafer cookies are just blech, so I wasn't about to use those.

I had sliced almonds and peanut butter chips on hand, so that was fine. One thing I will say, though is that cutting the almonds is not as simple as they make it sound. Getting the tops cut off for the semi-circle ears is not a big deal, but the direction "trim another almond into teeth as shown" should have a parenthetical addition that reads "easier said than done."

My biggest downfall, it seems, was ignoring the direction to use chocolate frosting for gluing the face together. Instead, I decided I would try piping peanut butter from a baggie. I don't know if it would have worked better with regular peanut butter, but I have been buying only natural peanut butter for the past few months, and it was a bit runny. Since I didn't have the chocolate frosting, I used the peanut butter to glue on mini chocolate chips for the eyes and nose. The faces kind of melted downward after being assembled. I told my husband I was serving "Franken-gophers" for dessert, which he found amusing. So, my Groundhog day treats didn't look magazine worthy in the end, but they did taste really good, and you have to admit, that is what really matters in a dessert.