Mint Chocolate Pudding Shot

Cool peppermint meets rich chocolate pudding for a refreshing dessert shot reminiscent of Andes mints or Thin Mints.

The Mint Chocolate Pudding Shot is a dessert gelatin shooter that replicates one of the most enduring flavor combinations in Western confectionery — the pairing of peppermint and chocolate that has been a commercial staple in the United States since at least the early 20th century. The specific confectionery references for the combination include Andes Créme de Menthe Thins, first produced by the Andes Candy Company in 1950 (the company having been founded in Chicago in 1921 by Andrew Kanelos), and the York Peppermint Pattie, launched in 1940 by the York Cone Company in York, Pennsylvania, and later acquired by Peter Paul Candy Manufacturing before passing to Hershey. Mint chocolate chip ice cream — whose standard green-tinted mint ice cream with chocolate chips format became a staple American flavor — has been produced commercially since the 1950s. The shot preparation combines peppermint schnapps, chocolate liqueur (crème de cacao), cream, and sometimes a small measure of vodka with instant chocolate pudding mix, which provides the shot's characteristic thick, mousse-like consistency. The menthol compounds in peppermint schnapps interact with the chocolate's theobromine-and-fat character in a way that produces the mint-chocolate register familiar from the confectionery context.