Butterfinger Delight -- The Sweet Finish to Our Pandemic Christmas Table

Christmas week, pandemic edition. The tree is lit and the fudge is made and the presents are wrapped and the preparations are identical to every other Christmas except for the mask on the counter and the hand sanitizer by the door and the knowledge that this Christmas is borrowed — borrowed from a year that took so much and is giving this one thing back: seven people at a table on December 25, eating turkey and saying grace and being alive.

Christmas Eve. The Lutheran church did a drive-through candlelight service — you stayed in your car, and the pastor stood on the church steps with a microphone and a candle, and the congregation sang 'Silent Night' from their vehicles, windows cracked, voices floating into the cold Nebraska night like smoke. It was strange and beautiful and not the same and better than nothing. Gayle sat in the passenger seat and sang every verse from memory, the same way she has sung them for forty-nine years, and her voice in the car was small and sure and the surest thing in a year of uncertainty.

Christmas dinner was Christmas Eve, as always — ham, scalloped potatoes, green beans, rolls, the chocolate sheet cake. I cooked alone in the kitchen while the family waited, and the aloneness of the cooking was the aloneness of love, the solitary act of making something for people you will feed, and the feeding is the language, and the language does not require translation.

The kids opened one present each. Tyler got a new fishing reel. Justin got a pair of cleats for next season — the good kind, the kind that cost more than I usually spend but which I spent anyway because Justin's feet and Justin's talent deserve the investment. Amber got a journal — the annual journal, the eighth one, the line of journals on her shelf that contains the interior life of a girl who does not share but does write. Josie got a onesie pajama with llamas on it, which she put on immediately and wore for the next forty-eight hours.

The chocolate sheet cake has been our Christmas closer for as long as I can remember, but this year I wanted something I could put together quietly, without the oven running while I still had ham to carve and potatoes to finish — something that could just sit in the fridge and wait for us, the way good things do. This Butterfinger Delight is that dessert: cold and creamy and a little indulgent, with that familiar chocolate-and-toffee crunch that feels, somehow, like a reward. After a year like that one, we had earned it.

Butterfinger Delight

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes (includes chilling) | Servings: 12

Ingredients

• 1 package (14.3 oz) Golden Oreo cookies, crushed
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 container (16 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed, divided
• 2 packages (3.4 oz each) instant vanilla pudding mix
• 3 cups cold whole milk
• 4 Butterfinger candy bars (1.9 oz each), coarsely crushed, divided

Instructions

1. Make the crust. In a medium bowl, combine the crushed Golden Oreo cookies with the melted butter and stir until the crumbs are evenly moistened. Press the mixture firmly and evenly into the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish. Refrigerate while you prepare the filling layers.
2. Prepare the cream cheese layer. In a large bowl, beat the softened cream cheese and powdered sugar together with a hand mixer until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Fold in 1 cup of the whipped topping until fully incorporated. Spread this mixture evenly over the chilled cookie crust.
3. Make the pudding layer. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the instant vanilla pudding mixes and cold milk for 2 minutes until the pudding begins to thicken. Pour and spread the pudding evenly over the cream cheese layer.
4. Add the whipped topping. Spread the remaining whipped topping in an even layer over the pudding. Smooth it all the way to the edges of the dish.
5. Top with Butterfinger. Scatter three-quarters of the crushed Butterfinger pieces evenly over the whipped topping. Reserve the remaining crushed candy for a final garnish just before serving so it stays crisp.
6. Chill. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight. Before serving, sprinkle the reserved Butterfinger pieces on top. Cut into squares and serve cold.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 420 | Protein: 5g | Fat: 20g | Carbs: 56g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 340mg