Try the grey stuff, it’s delicious! This copycat grey stuff recipe tastes just like the one you can find at Disney Parks and is fun for kids and tasty enough for adults! We’ve been making this for years, ever since I tried it at Disneyland, and it’s still one of my favorite themed desserts to serve for movie night or Disney parties!
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If you’ve read much on my site, you’ll know I love Disney and Disney food. After trying the grey stuff gateau at Red Rose Tavern at Disneyland (one of my favorite ever Disneyland food items), I knew I wanted to try and recreate the recipe at home!
They also have the grey stuff as one of the dessert options at Be Our Guest Restaurant in Disney World – it’s similar but not served on a sugar cookie like at Disneyland, but you could totally use this as a copycat recipe for that too!
This grey stuff recipe is super simple to make and reminds me of the one they serve at Disneyland. It’s perfect for a Disney themed party, a princess party, or really just a fun Disney themed afternoon snack!
And if you’re not sure what grey stuff is – it’s an Oreo type mousse/frosting that’s plated on top of a soft sugar cookie. The combination of the two together made everyone at my recent princess party deem this the best of all the princess party food!
Why You’ll Love Grey Stuff
- Easy recipe – if you can make boxed pudding, you can make this recipe. It’s just a matter of mixing together a couple of ingredients then piping the mousse like frosting onto cookies!
- Oreo flavor – the base of this recipe is Oreos, or cookies and cream as Disney calls it, but unlike these Oreo truffles, it’s not just an Oreo flavor. The flavor is actually pretty complex and delicious.
- Kids can help – let kids help you mix the ingredients together, pipe the grey stuff onto the cookies, and even add sprinkles on the top! It’s pretty fool-proof, so this is a great recipe for little helpers!
- Versatile – you can serve this on cupcakes, cookies, or even all on its own!
Ingredients in The Grey Stuff Recipe
Ingredient notes & substitutions
- Milk – I always recommend whole milk for recipes like this where you want them to be thick and have a richness to them.
- Vanilla and chocolate pudding mix – I recommend the instant pudding mix so it sets faster but either one works. If you use something other than instant, make sure to let it chill for the entire hour!
- Oreos – I recommend the regular, not double-stuff Oreos, for these so that you have more of the cookie and less of the cream. That’ll give you a better consistency than the double-stuffed variation.
- Sugar cookies – you can really use any type of sugar cookies you want. It’s good with these cream cheese sugar cookies or if you want, you can just buy sugar cookies too. We’ve made this as a frosting for cupcakes as well.
- Edible sugar pearls – sugar pearls, sprinkles, whatever you want to use to decorate the grey stuff works just fine. They just use the little pearls on them at Disneyland, which is why I recommended those.
How to make Gray Stuff
Let me start by saying you might be tempted to read through these instructions and just mix everything together (because it seems like it’s possible to just do it that way). And let me stop you there – don’t do that.
There’s a reason the recipe is written the way it is. Even though everything eventually gets mixed together, you need to follow the steps as outlined below to make sure the pudding sets properly, things are cooled, etc.
Okay so now that we have that straight, here’s how you make this grey stuff recipe!
1 – Make the grey stuff mixture
- Mix the vanilla pudding mix in a large bowl. Cover the mixture and put it in the fridge for about an hour until it firms up. If you are using instant pudding, it’ll firm up much quicker.
- While the pudding is chilling, put your Oreos in a zipper plastic bag and use a rolling pin to roll over the bag until the Oreos are all completely crushed. Or just put them in a food processor and pulse.
- Add the Oreo crumbs to the vanilla pudding once the pudding is set and mix well.
- Whip in the whipped topping and chocolate pudding mix (just the mix, don’t make the pudding), keep stirring until they are completely combined. It may take a few minutes, but you should eventually see the nice grey color you’re looking for.
- Let the mixture cool in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
2 – Add the Gray Stuff to Your treats
- Put a large star tip in a piping bag (or a gallon size zipper bag) and carefully fill the bag with the grey stuff pudding.
- Pipe in swirls on top of the sugar cookies (or cupcakes) like an ice cream cone then sprinkle with your chosen sprinkles. You can make them as big or as small as you want!
- Serve immediately or store at room temperature until you’re ready to serve.
Tip!
Make piping less messy by placing the piping bag inside of a large plastic cup (or glass) with the tip in the bottom of the cup and the opening of the piping bag folded over the rim of the cup. Spoon the grey stuff into the piping bag then remove from the cup – no messy grey stuff on the outside of the piping bag!
And there you go – grey stuff just like they have at Disneyland and Disney World! Or if you’re not going for a Disney or princess theme, you could totally just call this Oreo mousse or something like that and get away with serving it for anything!
Or use it as frosting on top of cupcakes and call it Oreo frosting or grey stuff frosting, totally up to you. Or you could even just put it in small individuals cups topped with sprinkles and Oreo crumbs for a tasty Oreo pudding treat!
Helpful Tips & Tricks
If you’re planning to make these ahead of time, make the grey stuff and refrigerate until just before serving. Then pipe and add to your cookies or cupcakes (or just into little ups) and serve immediately.
Pipe grey stuff on cookies then keep at room temperature until serving. Just like with most cupcake frosting, the piped grey stuff can start to melt if you have it outside at hot temperatures. It should be mostly okay but I recommend not leaving it out in the heat for too long.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container at in the fridge then bring them out to allow them to come to room temperature before serving.
Recipe FAQs
What is the grey stuff?
The grey stuff is a delicious mixture of Oreo crumbles, vanilla pudding, chocolate pudding, and whipped topping. The combination of the Oreos and puddings give it that iconic grey coloring.
Where can you get the grey stuff?
If you want to try the actual grey stuff at Disney, you can get it at Rose Red Tavern at Disneyland and Be Our Guest Restaurant in Magic Kingdom at Disney World.
More Disney Copycat Recipes
If you like this Disney grey stuff recipe, make sure to try these other Disney copycat recipes next!
- Butterfinger Cupcakes – called Butterfinger crunch cupcakes when they were at Hollywood Studios, these have a cult following for a reason!
- Jack Jack Num Num Cookies – a must-try at Disneyland that you can make at home!
- Grand Floridian chocolate chip cookies – these are inspired by ones at you guessed it, The Grand Floridian!
- Matterhorn Macaroons – coconut macaroons shaped like the Disneyland Matterhorn ride!
- Disneyland Tigger tails – one of the most fun treats in all of Disneyland!
- Copycat churro toffee recipe – if you can’t get it in the parks, you can make it at home!
Grey Stuff Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup whole milk
- 3.4 oz box of vanilla pudding mix
- 15 Oreos
- 8 oz whipped topping like cool whip
- 3 TBS chocolate pudding mix dry
- 12 sugar cookies
- edible sugar pearls, sprinkles, or other decorations
Instructions
- Mix the milk and vanilla pudding mix in a large bowl. Put in the refrigerator to chill for at least an hour, or until thickened.1 1/2 cup whole milk, 3.4 oz box of vanilla pudding mix
- Place Oreos in a plastic zipper bag and use a rolling pin to crush them into small crumbles. You could also do this in by pulsing them in a food processor if you have one.15 Oreos
- Add Oreo crumbles to the set vanilla pudding and mix well.
- Add whipped topping and chocolate pudding mix to the vanilla pudding mixture and fold them in, folding them in until they’re completely incorporated into the mixture.8 oz whipped topping, 3 TBS chocolate pudding mix
- Let mixture chill for at least an hour or until firm.
- Using a star piping tip, pipe swirls of the grey stuff on top of sugar cookies.12 sugar cookies
- Add sprinkles, candy pearls, or other decorations to the top of the grey stuff.edible sugar pearls, sprinkles, or other decorations
- Enjoy immediately or sometime that day.
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