My family is pretty large these days.

I’m the youngest of four children. All of us are married and have children of our own – and one of the children is even married herself.

That means that when we all get together, there are upwards of 20 people in the house.

Along with those 20 people comes a variety of food preferences and allergies.

Two avoid gluten.

Two are allergic to shellfish.

Two are diabetic.

One is allergic to peanuts and tree nuts.

I know all those restrictions may sound complicated, but honestly I think it’s kind of lovely. Year after year, we work together to figure out meals and snacks and desserts that will serve everyone’s needs.

All these different needs… yet everyone has a seat at the table.

It’s a beautiful metaphor for the way we should be treating one another in general.

This year, I decided I wanted to try making a few gluten-free desserts for my extended family.

I quickly discovered that gluten-free ingredients can be hard to come by here in Starkville.

I read reviews and tracked down a recommended gluten-free graham cracker in one grocery app, but I never did find it in the store itself.

Thankfully, Oreo makes a gluten-free version of their cookies – both golden and chocolate – that my sister had told me were almost indistinguishable from their regular counterparts.

So I grabbed a couple of boxes of those.

I used the golden ones as a crust for a cheesecake and the chocolate ones as the crust for this four-layer delight.

It was such a hit over Thanksgiving that my mom made another one for our Christmas gathering a few weeks ago. Both were gone quickly… not a shabby showing, considering it was up against longtime family classics like pumpkin and apple pies.

I made this recipe with full-sugar pudding and Cool Whip. However, it is remarkably easy to substitute sugar-free versions in most creamy desserts, and this one is no exception.

It’s much more difficult to make good sugar-free baked goods, which often rely on the sugar for moisture and texture. In short, if you need to make a low-sugar dessert, this is a great one to try. Just swap in sugar-free pudding mix and sugar-free whipped topping.

FOUR-LAYER CHOCOLATE DELIGHT

Ingredients
1 package gluten-free Oreo cookies (or about 22 regular Oreos)
6 Tablespoons butter, melted

1 cup powdered sugar
1 (8 ounce) brick cream cheese, room temperature
8 ounces (1/2 large tub) whipped topping (such as Cool Whip), thawed
1 package (6 ounces) chocolate pudding mix
3 cups milk
8 ounces (1/2 large tub) whipped topping, thawed

Directions
■ Grease a 9-by-13-inch pan. Set aside. Crush Oreo cookies into crumbs using food processor or a ziptop bag and a rolling pin. Pour crumbs into a mixing bowl and mix them thoroughly with melted butter. Scatter crumbs into pan and press into bottom to form a crust. Set pan into freezer for about 15 minutes while you prepare remaining ingredients.
■ Beat together powdered sugar and cream cheese until creamy and well blended. Fold in half the large tub of whipped topping by hand using a rubber spatula. When crust is chilled, spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the crust layer. In a mixing bowl (it’s fine to use the now-empty cream cheese bowl), whisk together the pudding mix and the cold milk.
■ Pour the pudding mixture over the cream cheese mixture and smooth out evenly. Add the remaining whipped topping over top and smooth out. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set, about 4 hours.

Amelia Plair is a mom and high school teacher in Starkville. Email reaches her at [email protected].

Amelia Plair is a Starkville resident who writes occasional food columns.