Consider This Tip When Making Pudding Shots For Your Next Party

Jell-O shots are a college holdover that find their way to backyard barbecues and adult game night, but if you want to show your family and friends that you've upped your game since those days, you should serve up some pudding shots. Pudding shots are exactly what they sound like. However, they have more of a dessert-like vibe. Pudding shots are perfect for fall or anytime you want an adult treat. Whether you are a novice or pro at making them, from time to time you may find them to be runny when they're done, but there is an easy fix for this problem that involves another velvety smooth ingredient: whipped cream. 

Pudding shots use boxed pudding mix made with a fraction of the milk the directions call for the foundation along with a complementary alcohol or alcohols stirred into the mix. But if the alcohol-infused pudding seems a little thin and is dripping off your whisk or beater, simply fold in some whipped cream or Cool Whip before you fill your mini solo cups or fancy shot glasses and place them in the fridge to set. This creamy addition will thicken up the pudding while lightening the texture of your pudding shots in the same breath. 

Why does it happen? If you are using alcohol like tequila, whiskey, vodka, rum, or gin that is 80-proof or higher it might cause your pudding shots to be runny even after you put them in the fridge to set. As little as eight ounces of prepared whipped cream whisked into your pudding will solve this problem. Once you add this ingredient, you may want to make it standard practice simply because it makes your pudding shots so luscious.

Cool Whip is an easy go-to for this job, but if you want to control the flavor a little more, homemade whipped cream is going to allow you to decide the level of sweetness as well as the overall flavor you want it to impart on your pudding shots. Add some confectioners' sugar, extract flavor, or cocoa to customize it to match the flavors of your pudding and alcohol. And ultimately, that's what pudding shots are all about, making them your own. But if you need some inspiration we have a few pudding and alcohol combinations to get you started.

Pudding comes in a few different flavors, including lemon. To create a pudding shot that echoes the flavors of your favorite lemon drop martini, use some lemon pudding as your base, add some vodka, and some lemon whipped cream. Twist some lemon peels for garnish and bottoms up. 

If you vibe with the "Big Lebowski" and are making White Russian pudding shots, use vodka, and coffee liqueur with a vanilla pudding to mimic the flavors of this drink. Add some vanilla whipped cream with all the ingredients before putting your shots in the fridge, and the Dude will definitely abide. That said, if you are using a strong alcohol with a liqueur, use more of the liqueur or it might be overwhelmed by the other flavors.

Banana pudding and Nilla Wafers make for a yummy dessert, and it is a great muse for a pudding shot. Add rum, banana liqueur, coffee liqueur, and some whipped cream to your banana pudding mix, and sprinkle some crushed wafers on top along with a maraschino cherry, and place in the fridge or the freezer until they are nice and chilly. Chocolate pudding is always a crowd-pleaser and pairing your chocolate mix with chocolate liqueur or Baileys Irish Cream and swapping chocolate milk for regular milk will give you an indulgent and rich pudding shot. Crush some Oreos and whisk them into your whipped cream before you add it to your shots and you get a cookies and cream pudding shot.