Oreo Delight — Layers of Love, Just Like Saturday Pudding

Cicadas at sundown. The porch light catching them. The neighborhood quiet at ten PM. Tuesday feeding ran clean. Sister Beulah was there at three. The chicken was dredged by four. We served from six until eight. Sister Beulah shooed me out at nine-thirty.

Calvin preached Sunday on the woman at the well. The church said amen. I talked to Marcus this morning at the kitchen window with my coffee. I told him the kitchen was holding. He did not answer in words. He does not need to.

Banana pudding Saturday. Nilla wafers layered like sedimentary rock. The custard from scratch — yes, baby, from scratch, none of that boxed nonsense.

CJ called from Huntsville. The grandchildren — Caleb (1), Naomi — are well. Shanice sends her love. Destiny came for Sunday dinner. She talked about her work. The work is hard. She is good at hard work.

I went to bed at ten. The kitchen was clean. The day was the day.

Calvin Jr. called Tuesday night. He was tired. He had been at work twelve hours. I told him, baby, eat something. He said, Mama, I will. I said, what did you eat last. He said, a granola bar. I said, baby, that is not eating. He laughed.

I went to the cemetery Saturday morning. I left a small piece of pound cake on Bernice's stone. I sat on the grass for fifteen minutes. The wind moved the trees.

Bernice's Table Tuesday. The team was sharp. The food held. The room held.

I made coffee at five Tuesday morning. Strong, with cream, no sugar (the diabetes). I stood at the kitchen window. The yard was still in dark. The day ahead was the day ahead. I went into it.

I read for an hour Sunday night before bed. The Bible, then a book Doris sent me about the civil rights movement in Birmingham. The book made me think about Bernice in the church kitchen during the bombings.

I stood at the kitchen window with my coffee Tuesday morning. Six o'clock. The light just coming. The yard quiet. Talking to Mama about the day ahead. The talking is its own prayer, sugar.

Doris called Thursday. Three times a week, the standard. We talked about Calvin's health. We talked about Harold's health. We talked about the family. We talked about what I was cooking.

Calvin and I watched the news Wednesday evening. He fell asleep in the recliner. I covered him with the afghan that Bernice crocheted before she died. The afghan is holding.

A new young wife joined the Saturday cooking class. Twenty-two years old. She does not know how to make rice. I will teach her. The chain extends.

The garden in the side yard, sugar. The tomatoes are coming on. The okra is up. The collards are getting big. I will be canning by August. I always say I am not going to can. I always end up canning.

Sunday after service Calvin and I drove past the new sanctuary site. The choir loft windows were going in. We sat in the car and looked. He did not speak. I did not speak. The watching was the prayer.

Sister Patrice's husband had heart surgery this week. I drove a meal over Tuesday — chicken and rice, cornbread, peach cobbler. She cried at the door. I told her, baby, eat the food. The food was the saying.

The kitchen smelled like garlic and onion all afternoon Wednesday. Calvin came home from his Bible study and stood in the doorway and said, Loretta, what are we eating. I said, baby, you will see. He said, that is a yes from me. He has been saying that for fifty years.

Saturday’s banana pudding is its own sermon — Nilla wafers, custard from scratch, layers built with intention — and when I tell you a layered dessert is an act of faith, I mean it. This Oreo Delight carries that same spirit: cool and creamy, built patient layer by patient layer, the kind of thing you set in the refrigerator and let rest until it’s ready, just like most good things in this life. I make it when I want the sweetness to do the talking without all the standing over a hot stove, and it has never once let the table down.

Oreo Delight

Prep Time: 25 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 2 hours 25 minutes (includes chilling) | Servings: 12

Ingredients

• 36 Oreo cookies, divided
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 16 oz whipped topping (such as Cool Whip), divided
• 2 packages (3.4 oz each) instant chocolate pudding mix
• 3 cups cold whole milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Make the crust. Place 24 Oreo cookies in a zip-top bag and crush them into fine crumbs with a rolling pin. Combine crumbs with melted butter and press firmly into the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Refrigerate while you prepare the layers.
2. Make the cream cheese layer. Beat the softened cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract and beat until fully combined. Fold in half (8 oz) of the whipped topping until the mixture is smooth and no streaks remain. Spread evenly over the chilled crust.
3. Make the pudding layer. Whisk together the instant chocolate pudding mix and cold whole milk for 2 minutes until thickened. Let stand for 5 minutes to set up slightly, then spread evenly over the cream cheese layer.
4. Add the topping. Spread the remaining whipped topping over the pudding layer in an even, gentle layer all the way to the edges of the dish.
5. Finish and chill. Crush the remaining 12 Oreo cookies coarsely and scatter them over the top. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight, before serving. Cut into squares and serve cold.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 410 | Protein: 5g | Fat: 20g | Carbs: 54g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 390mg