Making the Grey Stuff From Beauty and the Beast!

That Weird Girl Life

I cannot tell you how excited I am for today. Because today, the live action Beauty and the Beast comes out on DVD/Blu-ray! Which means that I can now own it, and watch it as many times as is socially acceptable for a late 20-something year old to watch it (so, no more than twice in a row, obviously). But in honor of this day when an AMAZING new version of an old classic is being released to the general public, I thought I would celebrate by making the famous dish that was name checked in one of the best songs and scenes in movie history: the Grey Stuff from "Be Our Guest"!

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You know, as in: "try the grey stuff, it's delicious! Don't believe me? Ask the dishes!"

I can't be the only one who's wondered what this swirled pile of grey goo on a cracker(?) was and, more importantly, what it tasted like. Was it savory? Sweet? Or something gross (and incredibly unethical) like foie gras? I recently learned that you can actually order and EAT the Grey Stuff at Disneyland and Disneyworld! And it is neither savory or foe gras! It's sweet, like cookies and cream whipped topping, apparently. It's maybe not how they originally animated it in the original Beauty and the Beast movie, but in true Disney parks fashion, it's been recreated with a sweet and stylish makeover. Sometimes served by itself on a plate, or on a cookie, or at Disneyland, red velvet cake covered in the Grey Stuff on a scalloped shortbread cookie and at Disneyworld, a chocolate cake covered with the Grey Stuff and also on a shortbread cookie- whatever way, it sounds delicious! And this newly vamped Grey Stuff certainly looks way more stylish than it did in the OG movie.

*Check out this delicious sounding article from Buzzfeed where someone documented their journey of eating the Grey Stuff for the first time!

So obviously I'm going to have to make some of this stuff myself to see what it tastes like, right? Since I can't get to either Disneyland or Disneyworld right now (but hopefully I'll visit both parks sometime in the near future!). I found some copycat recipes online (including one from the official Disney Family website) and have decided to follow these instructions (which involve different pudding mixes, Oreos, and whipped topping. I've seen other recipes that just involve Oreos and frosting, but I thought the pudding one sounded more interesting to try. Plus, it's the most popular Grey Stuff copy cat recipe). Let's get started!

*Much thanks to the sites/blogs, Lil' Luna, The Disney Diner, and Disney Family for their Grey Stuff recipes!*

Here's what you'll need for the Grey Stuff:

• 1 small package (3.4 oz) Instant Vanilla Pudding mix
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk or 2% milk
• 15 regular sized Oreos
• 1 small tub Cool Whip or whipped topping (8 oz)
• 1-3 tablespoons Instant Chocolate Pudding mix (some recipes said only 1 tablespoon of chocolate pudding mix, others said more. I think how many tablespoons you put in will all depend on how grey you want your Grey Stuff to be, so it's up to you!)
• Pearl candies or pearl sprinkles (I found a Wilton multi pack of different types of black, white, and grey sprinkles, including some teeny tiny round ones which I'll just use at itty bitty pearls to decorate my Grey Stuff)

For the cookie base, I just used a sugar cookie mix (gasp! I know! Not from scratch?? How dare I!) and used a flower shape cookie cutter to make the scalloped edges. I made the cookies the day before I made the Grey Stuff, just to cut down on the cooking time. Because sometimes it feels like baking can take forever, with waiting for things to chill, then bake, then the dreaded clean up, ugh.

Instructions to Make the Grey Stuff:

1. In a medium bowl, combine the Vanilla Pudding Mix and milk. Mix well with a whisk and then refrigerate for 5-10 minutes.
2. Blend Oreos in a food processor until they're blended into a crumbs (no big crumbs!)
3. Take the pudding mix out of the fridge and mix in the Oreo crumbs.
4. Fold in the tub of whipped topping into the pudding/Oreo mixture.
5. Add 1-3 tablespoons of the Chocolate Pudding Mix and mix until you're satisfied with the grey color. Put it back in the fridge for at least an hour to chill before serving.
6. When you're ready to serve, put the Grey Stuff mixture in a piping bag and pipe a swirl onto a cookie (you can either use a plastic baggie, or an actual piping page with a tip to make it look fancy). Decorate with with pearl candies or sprinkles.
7. And you're ready to serve! Bon appetit!

I bought a cheap set of four disposable piping bags plus adjustable star shaped piping tips. I'm not the best when it comes to decorating cookies and cupcakes, but I enjoy doing it. I just forgot that since the Grey Stuff is a mix of pudding and whipped cream, and it's incredibly hot today, it melts super fast! So I tried to pipe as fast as I could, but with some of the bigger Oreo chunks (I tried to make them small!) getting stuck in the tip, I ended up squeezing too hard and the Grey Stuff came flooding out of the piping bag, landing in a poo-like pile on the cookies. I did my best to rectify the situation by adding some swirls to give it that pointed top (and obviously to make it look less poo-like. Sooo unappetizing!) But look how pretty (some) of them turned out!

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That Weird Girl Life

That Weird Girl Life

But now the most important questions is: HOW DO THEY TASTE??

I'm not going to lie: I used to be a big pudding fan, but I've kind of grown out of it. And if you hadn't noticed, this recipe is ALL PUDDING. Especially since I added 3 tablespoons of the chocolate pudding mix to make it extra "grey," which then made it taste even MORE like chocolate pudding. You can taste the Oreos too, but the chocolate pudding taste is overwhelming (in a good way, if you like pudding). Adding the whipped cream gave it a much lighter consistency, which I enjoyed. Overall, it was really delicious, but pretty rich (again, probably because of the 3 tablespoons of chocolate pudding mix I added!). It was easy enough to make, but maybe next time I'd use regular vanilla frosting with added Oreo crumbs to make my own Grey Stuff (I mean, to make that swirl of Grey Stuff that would be a LOT of frosting and Oreos, but I'm one of those people that likes more frosting than cake and I love Oreos so it sounds perfect to me!). I even saw at the store that they make an Oreo cookies and creme pudding mix, so I'm sure if you wanted to skip some steps and ingredients, you could probably just use that as a main ingredient instead!

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Overall though, I'm so happy I made my own Grey Stuff to celebrate the release of Beauty and the Beast! It made a perfectly festive dessert to eat while watching the movie, and added to the experience of the fabulous "Be Our Guest" song/scene. They turned out better than expected (well, not really, but I was able to make them prettier. So I'll call that a win!) and frankly, I'm glad they weren't a savory, foie gras type of food. Hopefully one day I'll get to try the official Grey Stuff at Disneyland or Disneyworld (or both!), but for now, my own will do as I keep rewatching the original Beauty and the Beast and now the newly released remake! (Again, I'm a late 20-something year old. This is how you adult, right? By eating themed Disney desserts and rewatching Disney movies. If so, I'm adulting RIGHT!)

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Is anyone else super excited for the remake of Beauty and the Beast being out today to own and rewatch again and again like me? Have you tried the Grey Stuff at Disneyland or Disneyworld? How as it? Was it delicious? Have you tried making your own? Let me know in the comments!

Stay Weird,
Emily