Homemade Pie Crust

New Year with Ida. She slept through midnight. Tyler and I watched the ball drop on the small TV in the living room with Ida in the bassinet between us and when midnight came we kissed and looked at her and she made a small sound in her sleep and then was quiet again. That was the whole thing. That was exactly the whole thing.

I called Gloria just before midnight and she was awake. She has been staying up for midnight every year since I called her the first time that year from the group home and said happy new year and she was the only person who had called to say it to me. Sixteen years ago. She said happy new year, baby. I said happy new year. She asked to hear Ida breathing and I held the phone near the bassinet and she listened for a moment and then said: yes. That is all she said. Yes. I knew what she meant.

Made black-eyed peas for new year good luck. Left them on the stove until they were perfectly done and ate them with cornbread at noon on New Year Day with Tyler and they tasted exactly like good luck tastes, which is warm and familiar and made by hand by someone who means well for you.

The small Bright Beginnings Daycare in the small downtown Prattville is the small workplace. The small toddler-room teacher role (ages 18-36 months). The small daycare-worker-salary plus the small fiancé-Cole’s small carpenter-paycheck is the small two-income engaged-couple budget. The small wedding-saving has been the small two-year-project.

Tyler Clarke (the small fiancé, 29, diesel-mechanic-from-Millbrook) works at a small trucking-company. The small wedding is planned for October 2026 with Gloria walking Savannah down the aisle. The small marriage will be the small first-stable-adult-relationship Savannah has had. The small foster-care upbringing means the small family-of-origin had been the small unstable-shape.

The small foster-care-history: Savannah went into the small Alabama-foster-care system at age six after the small mother’s incarceration and the small father’s absence. The small seven-foster-placements between infancy and age sixteen. The small last placement (Gloria and James Martin in Prattville, who became the small forever-parents) since age fourteen. The small Martin-foster-parents continued to be the small only-parents until James died in 2024 at 77 from a heart-attack mowing the lawn.

The small self-taught-Southern-cooking is the small kitchen-identity. The small no-grandmother-recipes-passed-down meant the small YouTube-and-cookbook-self-teaching from age sixteen onward. The small fried chicken, the small biscuits, the small mac-and-cheese, the small banana pudding, the small sweet tea are the small staples.

The small Gloria-Martin kitchen-mentorship (Gloria is the small foster-mom-now-mom) has been the small adult-cooking-development since the small fourteen-year-old. The small Gloria-Sunday-dinners-with-Savannah-cooking-now are the small weekly-rhythm since James passed. The small Gloria-recipes (Black-Southern-comfort-food the small chain of Gloria’s mother and grandmother) are the small heritage-by-adoption.

The small Prattville-small-town-community is the small social-context. The small First Baptist Church congregation is the small church-family. The small daycare-coworkers are the small adjacent-friend-network. The small Martin-family (Gloria, James who passed in 2024, plus the small current-foster-child Destiny age 6 in Gloria’s care) is the small chosen-family. The small Tyler’s-family-in-Millbrook (Debbie, Roy, and four-brothers) is the small in-law-family.

The small Sunday-publishing-rhythm of the recipe blog continues to be the small organizing-spine of the small week. The small Sunday-cooking happens in the small late-morning-to-early-afternoon window. The small photographing of the finished dish happens at the small three-PM kitchen-light-window. The small writing-up of the recipe happens at the small four-PM workspace at the kitchen-counter. The small final-edit happens at the small five-PM. The small post publishes at seven PM. The small ritual has been running for years.

The small recipe-development-philosophy continues to be the small small-batch-test-then-publish approach. The small first cook of a small new recipe happens on the small Saturday afternoon. The small adjustments are noted in the small kitchen-notebook. The small second cook happens Sunday with the small adjustments incorporated. The small Sunday-cook is the small version that gets photographed and published. The small two-test process catches the small recipe-flaws before they reach the small reader.

The small kitchen-equipment-inventory has the small key-pieces that show up in nearly every recipe. The small heavy-bottomed Dutch oven for the small braises. The small twelve-inch cast-iron skillet for the small sears and the small pan-roasts. The small half-sheet baking-pans for the small roasted vegetables and the small cookies. The small wooden-spoon-collection in the small ceramic-pitcher on the counter. The small chef’s-knife and the small paring-knife and the small bread-knife that are the small daily-tools.

The small grocery-shopping rhythm runs through the small Tuesday-evening trip and the small Saturday-morning top-off. The small Tuesday-trip is the small weekly-stock-up for the small staples and the small produce and the small protein. The small Saturday-trip is the small quick-fill for whatever the small Sunday-recipe requires that is not already in the small pantry. The small two-trip-per-week pattern keeps the small grocery-bill manageable and the small food-waste low.

The small meal-planning happens on the small Sunday-evening for the small week-ahead. The small dinners are mapped out across the small Monday-through-Saturday. The small repeating-meals are slotted in (the small pasta-Monday, the small taco-Tuesday or similar pattern). The small new-recipes are slotted for the small Wednesday-or-Thursday for the small variety. The small planning ahead reduces the small daily what-are-we-making-for-dinner stress.

The small weekday-cooking is the small efficient-and-fast mode. The small Sunday-cooking is the small slow-and-careful mode. The small two-modes serve the small two-different-needs. The small weekday-cooking has to be on the small table within forty-five minutes of getting home from the small work-or-school-pickup. The small Sunday-cooking can take three hours and benefit from every minute of that time.

The small recipe-archive on the small blog has grown to many hundreds of recipes over the years. The small archive is the small searchable-resource for the small weekday-meal-planning. The small reader-feedback in the small comments-section helps refine the small recipes over time.

The small Sunday-cooking-and-writing rhythm is the small thing that has held across years of life-changes and family-events and small ordinary-weekday-disruptions. The small constant is the small Sunday. The small constant is the small recipe. The small constant is the small posting-at-seven-PM ritual.

I keep coming back to the phrase I wrote that New Year’s Day — that the black-eyed peas tasted like good luck tastes, which is warm and familiar and made by hand by someone who means well for you. That sentence is really about all of Gloria’s kitchen teaching, and all of what I’ve tried to carry forward in my own. So the recipe I want to leave here alongside that memory is the one that asks the most of your hands and gives the most back: a proper homemade pie crust, learned slowly, made from almost nothing, and worth every bit of the trouble.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Chill Time: 30 minutes | Total Time: 45 minutes | Servings: 8 (one 9-inch single crust)

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar (optional, for a lightly sweet crust)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, very cold, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3 to 4 tablespoons ice water

Instructions

Combine dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and sugar (if using) until evenly combined.
Cut in the butter. Add the cold butter cubes to the flour mixture. Using a pastry cutter or your fingertips, work the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces of butter remaining. The butter pieces are what create flakiness — don’t overwork it.
Add ice water. Drizzle in 3 tablespoons of ice water one tablespoon at a time, stirring gently with a fork after each addition. The dough should just hold together when pinched. Add the fourth tablespoon only if needed — the dough should look shaggy, not wet.
Form and chill. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Bring it together gently with your hands and shape it into a flat disk about 1 inch thick. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (or up to 2 days).
Roll out. On a lightly floured surface, roll the chilled dough from the center outward into a circle about 12 inches in diameter and 1/8 inch thick. Rotate the dough a quarter turn every few rolls to keep it even and prevent sticking.
Transfer to pan. Carefully fold the rolled dough in half, then in half again, and lift it into a 9-inch pie pan. Unfold and gently press into the bottom and sides without stretching. Trim the overhang to about 1 inch and fold it under itself along the rim. Crimp the edge with your fingers or a fork.
Use as directed. For a pre-baked (blind-baked) shell: line with parchment, fill with pie weights or dried beans, and bake at 375°F for 15 minutes. Remove weights and bake 8 to 10 minutes more until golden. For a filled pie: fill and bake according to your pie filling’s instructions.

Nutrition (per serving)

Homemade Pie Crust — Made by Hand, Meant Well