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Pumpkin Rumchata Pudding Shots are a delicious make-ahead dessert!
Sorry kids, today’s Pumpkin Rumchata Pudding Shots are ONLY for the grown-ups at your next holiday party!
Just watch – put out a tray of these cute little Pumpkin Rumchata Pudding Shots and little matching silver spoons – and those adults are going to swarm around the dessert table just like the kids typically do!
Who can blame them? Each cup has cold, creamy pumpkin spice pudding that has been flavored with a kick of Rumchata liquor – then topped with a sweet graham cracker crust.
The Pumpkin Rumchata Pudding Shots are stored in the freezer – but they never fully freeze because of the alcohol in the mixture. So you’ll get a cold and frosty but still creamy spoonful of delicious pudding!
How do you make Pumpkin Rumchata Pudding Shots?
This make-ahead dessert is super easy. Buy pumpkin spice pudding mix, then swap in some of the milk in the recipe for Rumchata liquor.
Rumchata is essentially a mix of rum and horchata – a sweet, cinnamon-infused rice and almond drink that is often served at Mexican restaurants. You can buy Rumchata at any liquor store – or make your own horchata using our recipe here (it’s easy!) and then add some rum to taste.
Once you’ve mixed up your pudding-Rumchata mixture, spoon it into mini plastic shot glasses, then sprinkle finely crushed graham crackers flavored with a pumpkin pie spice blend on top. Then freeze until ready to serve.
We found both the shot glasses and those cute little silver plastic spoons at our local Dollar Tree store, or you can buy them here and here.
One last note: At room temperature, the pudding never reaches a fully thick state. But, when you freeze the mixture, it will reach a thicker consistency of pudding. You simply serve these right out of the freezer. The pudding shots will never fully freeze through, they stay a soft pudding-like consistency.
P.S. Thank you to Bob (Jack’s co-worker) for sharing this recipe with us. Bob’s wife Kristin makes lots of different kinds of delicious pudding shots. Bob and Kristin also happen to be our friend Glenn’s in-law’s – and once you try these Pumpkin Rumchata Pudding Shots and Glenn’s crazy-popular Slow Cooker Sweet and Spicy Chili recipe – you’ll know that good cooks run in that family!
You may like these other recipes:
- Horchata
- No-Bake Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes
- Praline Pumpkin Mousse
- Mini Pumpkin Pies
- Strawberry Shortcake with Mini Angel Food Cakes
We love seeing what you made! Tag us on Instagram at @afamilyfeast or hashtag #afamilyfeast so we can see your creations!
Pumpkin Rumchata Pudding Shots
Ingredients
1 3.4–ounce box of pumpkin instant pudding mix
3/4 cup of whole milk
3/4 cup Rumchata
2 whole graham crackers, crushed into fine crumbs
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
Pour dry pudding mix into a medium bowl, then whisk in the cold milk and the Rumchata. Whisk to remove all lumps.
Transfer mixture to a measuring cup with a spout, or use a small ladle to divide the mixture between 10 shot cups. The pudding will be liquidy.
Combine graham cracker crumbs and pumpkin pie spice together, then sprinkle over the tops of each shot.
Freeze for several hours, then serve frozen.
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To make pudding shots with a pudding-like consistency without having to freeze, add 1 tub of cool-whip to the mix. Shots can be stored in the refrigerator. I make multi-flavors for parties and did a pumpkin one several years ago using whipped cream flavored vodka. Like the idea of using rumchata. Will try this today for Thanksgiving!
Thanks for the suggestion. We wanted more of a pumpkin pie texture rather than a cream pie texture but yours sounds delicious too!
Called every store in town. NO ONE HAS PUMPKIN INSTANT PUDDING! Need for golf group in 2 days. Any way to substitute & still get that pumpkin flavor????
Hi Louise – Amazon sells it (https://amzn.to/3qfTIQw) although I’m not sure you’ll get it in time for your golf group. You can try regular (non-instant) pumpkin pudding mix, but might require some other tweaks to the recipe and without rewriting the recipe/testing in our own kitchen, I’d just be guessing. Sorry I can’t be more help with such short notice.
Can you use vanilla pudding and add some canned pumpkin? I can’t find pumpkin pudding anywhere?
Hi Patricia – You can…although you may want to adjust the amount of milk down since the canned pumpkin will add more moisture to the overall mixture..