By December. The book is a hundred pages now. I have started thinking about what it is, what category it lives in. It is not a cookbook exactly. It is not a memoir exactly. It is the two things together in the way they have always been together for me. The food and the life and the understanding that the food is the life, the container for it, the language of it.
I sent ten pages to a woman I found online who helps writers understand what they have and what to do with it. She wrote back in three days and said: this is a book, keep going. I read that sentence four times. Tyler read it and said: I told you. I said: I know. He said: listen to people who know things. I said: I am. He said: not just the woman online. I said: I know, I know, I listen to you. He said: yes, you do, that is one of the things I love about you. That was an unexpectedly direct compliment and I received it directly and without deflection, which is a skill I have been building for years and have mostly acquired.
Christmas is next week. I am making the full Clarke contribution plus the sweet potato pie plus something new this year: a chocolate layer cake with caramel frosting that I have been practicing since November. If it is right it will be on the table next year and the year after that. That is how things become tradition. You try them once and if they are right they stay.
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 chocolate caramel cake is still practicing—I have made it three times since November and the frosting is almost right but not quite, and I am not putting anything on Gloria’s Christmas table that is not quite. So this year, alongside the sweet potato pie and the full Clarke contribution, I needed something that required zero nerves and all joy. This Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cake Dip is exactly that: it tastes like childhood and holiday and ease, and it gives me something to set out while I focus my attention on getting that layer cake right. Some things on the table are tradition in the making. Some things are just purely fun—and the table needs both.
Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cake Dip
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 10 minutes | Servings: 12
Ingredients
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 5 Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes, crumbled (plus 1–2 extra for topping)
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup red and green holiday sprinkles
- Graham crackers, vanilla wafers, or shortbread cookies, for dipping
Instructions
- Beat the base. In a large bowl, beat the softened cream cheese and butter together with a hand mixer on medium speed until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add sweetness. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Beat on low until incorporated, then increase to medium and mix until light and creamy, about 1–2 minutes more.
- Fold in the cakes. Using a spatula, gently fold in the crumbled Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes and the white chocolate chips until just combined—you want some visible chunks for texture.
- Transfer and top. Spread the dip into a serving bowl or shallow dish. Top with additional crumbled Christmas Tree Cake pieces and scatter the holiday sprinkles generously over the top.
- Serve immediately or chill. Serve right away at room temperature for the softest texture, or refrigerate for up to 2 hours before serving. Set out graham crackers, vanilla wafers, or shortbread for dipping.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 310 | Protein: 3g | Fat: 18g | Carbs: 36g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 160mg