Quick—name your favorite food that is gray… I’ll wait. Got nothing? Well, perhaps that’s why Lumiere thought we wouldn’t believe him when he touted the “grey stuff” hors d’oeuvre for Belle to try.  

But through the magic of Disney, that gray blob from the film becomes a decadent sweet treat you can enjoy at Be Our Guest Restaurant and now, thanks to the Disney Parks recipe release, at home!

Here are some tips and tricks I learned from making “The Grey Stuff” at home:

Grey Stuff Recipe Ingredients

All you’ll need to make the Grey Stuff! Photo by Chelsea Harrison

• 1 ½ cup cold whole milk
• 3.4 oz instant vanilla pudding mix
• 15 chocolate sandwich cookies
• 8 oz whipped topping
• 3 Tbsp instant chocolate pudding mix
• Edible sugar pearls
• Sugar cookies

As Head Chef, it was my job to acquire the finest ingredients for this experiment.

Since we are currently under quarantine, that step involved a grocery pick-up order and one online order for the specialty ingredient of the sugar pearls.

I sprang the extra few cents per box for Godiva pudding mix, hoping to plus the decadence of the dish (after all, miss, this is France), but I’m sure it would be just as good with any favorite pudding mix.

We also went for the Dark Chocolate Oreo Thins over regular Oreos (sorry, “sandwich cookies”) because I thought it might give a deeper chocolate flavor, so I also upped the cookie count from 15 to about 24, since each cookie was smaller.

Putting Our Grey Stuff Recipe Together

My kids are six, four, and two, and we found that this recipe is great for small Sous Chefs like mine, because it mostly involves dumping and stirring.  

This recipe takes some serious supervision! Photo by Chelsea Harrison

First, we whisked together the vanilla pudding mix and cold milk. This mix chills in the fridge for one to two hours.

Little Sous Chefs helping in the kitchen! Photo by Chelsea Harrison

HINT: I’m not sure why, but this recipe calls for 3.4 oz of pudding mix when a standard box is 3.9 oz. I used a kitchen scale to get the exact amount, but next time, I would probably just use the whole box of vanilla and add some extra milk.

Grind up the cookies! Photo by Chelsea Harrison

While you’re waiting, grind up your cookies to a fine crumb (warning: grown-ups only step!). I used a mini-food processor (do cookies in two batches if you use a mini), but you could use the plastic bag and rolling pin method, as well.

Mix the cookies into the pudding. Photo by Chelsea Harrison

After the vanilla pudding has firmed up (I only waited one hour), stir in the cookie crumbs, followed by folding in the Cool Whip and chocolate pudding mix. A rubber spatula works great for these steps. 

Almost There!

Refrigerate this mix for one more hour—we ate dinner and listened to Disney tunes while we waited!

Finally, transfer your “grey stuff” to a piping bag (if you’re feeling French and fancy!) or a Ziploc bag will do.

I cut a small corner of my plastic bag off and used a piping tip from a cookie decorating kit to up my piping game a bit! But if you don’t have piping tips, just cut a small corner off the bag corner and you’re good to go.

Pipe your Grey Stuff onto the cookies! Photo by Chelsea Harrison

TIP: I think the piping tip actually started slowing me down the longer I piped, because cookie bits seemed to be getting in there and clogging it up.

The kiddos gave piping a try, but the bag was quite hard to squeeze, so they were happy to continue their dance party while I did the finishing touches of sprinkling on the sugar pearls.

Sprinkles and pearls make it extra divine! Photo by Chelsea Harrison

TIP: We took a huge short-cut and used store-bought cookies, but of course, if you have time on your hands (and many of us do these days), homemade sugar cookies would probably really plus this recipe.

Tie Your Napkin ‘Round Your Neck, Cherie!

Finally—time for dessert! The end result of our hard work (well, really just some stirring with lots of waiting in between!) was ready and quite delicious. I agree with the dishes. 

The kids loved the final product! Photo by Chelsea Harrison

The pudding is creamy and addictive, with a subtle chocolate flavor. It has a slight crunch from the crushed cookies, and the sugar cookies add a tasty solid structure.

Come to think of it, this dish reminds me a lot of another dessert with a not-so-pleasant name—anyone remember “Dirt Cake?”

Try the Grey Stuff, it’s delicious! Photo by Chelsea Harrison

TIP: We taste-tested two brands of sugar cookies: Walkers Shortbread Highlanders and Keebler Butter Cookies.

The Walkers brand won with the adults because of the rich buttery flavor they added.

The kids, on the other hand, gobbled both “taste tests” without any preference!

So take it from Lumiere: “If you’re stressed, it’s fine dining we suggest.” The kids and I had a great time whipping up this recipe and sharing a fancy dessert by candlelight is definitely a magical memory we will cherish from this time at home.

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