Double Delights — Because This New Year Came With Double the Love

New Year's Eve. 2023 becoming 2024. The year of the wedding. The year Kayla becomes Mrs. Brooks — or Henderson-Brooks, or whatever combination the young people choose now. In my day you took his name and that was that. Now there are options. I respect the options even if I don't fully understand them. What I understand is: my granddaughter is getting married in April, and I have four months to cook the best meal this family has ever eaten.

Midnight in the kitchen. Kayla, Devon, Denise. Glasses raised. I said, "To 2024. The year my Kayla walks down the same aisle I walked in 1976 and marries a man who earned his place at this table one plate of greens at a time." Kayla laughed. Devon blushed. Denise cried, because Denise cries at everything involving weddings, which means the next four months will be a flood.

New Year's Day. Black-eyed peas. The tradition. Mrs. Crawford's plate at ten. Her call at noon. "The peas are the best yet." I said, "Mrs. Crawford, you're going to say that until one of us dies." She said, "Probably you." I said, "MRS. CRAWFORD." She laughed. Eighty-eight years old and the woman has a sense of humor that could strip paint. I love her. I love her more every year. Some friendships happen by accident and become essential. We found each other through a foil pan on a porch, and now she's the woman I call every Thursday and feed every week and carry in my heart with the same weight as family, because she is family. Chosen family. The best kind.

Made red beans and rice on January 1. New Year's Day tradition overlapping with Monday tradition. Double tradition. Double beans. Double love.

Now go on and feed somebody.

After the peas were delivered to Mrs. Crawford and the red beans were bubbling on the stove — double tradition, just like I said — I needed something sweet to close out the first day of the year Kayla gets married. Two traditions running at once felt like a sign: this year is going to be full, layered, twice as good as anything that came before it. These Double Delights felt exactly right for that. Two layers, one pan, all the sweetness this family has earned.

Double Delights

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 40 minutes | Servings: 24 bars

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup butterscotch chips
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat. Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.
2. Make the base. Beat butter, flour, powdered sugar, and salt together until a soft dough forms. Press evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan to form a uniform crust layer.
3. Bake the crust. Bake for 12–15 minutes until just set and lightly golden at the edges. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes.
4. Add the first delight. Scatter the semi-sweet chocolate chips evenly over the warm crust.
5. Add the second delight. Scatter the butterscotch chips evenly over the chocolate chips.
6. Pour the binding layer. Stir vanilla into the sweetened condensed milk and drizzle evenly over both chip layers. If using pecans, scatter them on top now.
7. Finish baking. Return the pan to the oven and bake an additional 10–12 minutes, until the top is golden and set. The condensed milk will bubble slightly at the edges — that’s what you want.
8. Cool and cut. Allow to cool completely in the pan before cutting into bars. For clean cuts, refrigerate for 20 minutes before slicing.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 210 | Protein: 2g | Fat: 11g | Carbs: 27g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 65mg