Baking the recipes that raised us.

In August 2020, we lost our beloved Grandma Bodell. The matriarch of our family. She left behind six children, 12 grandchildren, 24 great-grandchildren, and one great-great grandchild. The woman who made sure every birthday included a homemade cake, inimitable to this day.

Every holiday, our dessert table was filled with homemade cream puffs, pies, and cakes galore. Homemade fluted crusts, filled to the top with a pecan or lemon filling, baked with her love and care, became a staple of our family’s holiday memories.

The first Thanksgiving without Grandma Bodell, we found pie in the freezer section of the store, from a lady named Marie Calle-something-or-other. Suddenly, we all learned this so-called “pie” was in fact no way to end a meal at all.

So, I dove into the flour and shortening, thinking I’d try my hand at making pie. While my grandma might “give you” the recipe, she was notorious for leaving out perhaps a detail or two. Over the years, I’ve created my own hacks for her pie recipes, but the ingredients remain the same. Once baked in her kitchen, now baked by me, and there’s always enough for you to enjoy pie twice!

~ Taylor