<p>Combining my joint goals of getting my home organized and finding projects to stave off empty nest syndrome, I want to compile a family cookbook of all the favorite recipes from my grandmother, mother and myself, to give to my kids. </p>
<p>Anyone take on a similar project? Suggestions? Did you use an outside company/website you recommend or create your own on your computer and have it printed at Staples or some other printer?</p>
<p>What a lovely idea! I think that you can put something together pretty easily using Snapfish or a similar service, but I’ve never done anything like that myself.</p>
<p>This is a homespun take on the idea of a family cookbook - handwritten recipe cards in a binder cookbook. My daughter’s bridesmaids found a nice binder-style cookbook (this one: <a href=“http://www.amazon.com/C-R-Gibson-Pocket-Perfect-Setting/dp/B00EAUOJL2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1412731340&sr=8-2&keywords=C+R+Gibson+Perfect+Setting”>http://www.amazon.com/C-R-Gibson-Pocket-Perfect-Setting/dp/B00EAUOJL2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1412731340&sr=8-2&keywords=C+R+Gibson+Perfect+Setting</a> ). They sent 2 recipe cards in each shower invitation, asking the guests to fill them out with their favorite recipes and bring them on the day of the event. </p>
<p>Of the 40-some recipes she received, 27 were for desserts. 
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<p>Excellent idea. I did it for myself and son. I got a spiral type notebook with a vinyl cover (smaller than a spiral so it fits in with books on a shelf better) and copied out favorite recipes. I have an old recipe box but this organized things. He now has many of the dishes I cooked throughout his childhood- many Indian I modified from cookbooks et al. Now past college he asked me if the spicing was how I did it. Yup, at that time. </p>
<p>I also got son the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook - larger paperback. I have one and it is great when you need to know basics. Of course one can use a computer as well.</p>
<p>I started a google doc that the family has access to. I add recipes and then my kids can just open the doc when they want to make something. </p>
<p>Tip: There are tricks to writing recipes in a way that others can follow correctly. You should write pretending the user has no cooking background or skills. FYI - lots of tips: <a href=“http://www.gourmania.com/articles/writeckbk.htm”>http://www.gourmania.com/articles/writeckbk.htm</a></p>
<p>:) I remember when I moved away from home after HS graduation. I did not know exactly how to bake a potato in an oven, though for years at home I had put potatoes on a rack of spikes my mom used for her. A friend recommended (the old) The Joy of Cooking. Loved it. Still use it. </p>
<p>Have also collected the handwritten recipe cards, clippings, and community cookbooks from my grandmothers and mom. Precious. </p>
<p>I just did this for my daughter a few months ago. I bought a cute recipe book at our local Hallmark store- they had several really nice choices- and I hand wrote all of my recipes for her. They skewed heavily toward cookies and desserts as I’m a better baker than cook. There were plenty of blank cards in sleeves left for her to add to the collection. I enjoy the handwritten cards in my own recipe book so wanted to pass along something to her that had a little of myself in it. (She loved it.) </p>
<p>if you add a few photos of the relatives who created the recipes and photos of folks enjoying the tasty treats, that would be a nice addition too!</p>
<p>My sister and I did this recently and were VERY pleased with the results and the ease of use of this service: <a href=“http://heritagecookbook.com/”>http://heritagecookbook.com/</a></p>
<p>I’m working on doing this for my late MIL’s recipes. I used Blurb (see below) and have been happy with it.
<a href=“http://lp.blurb.com/flashsale?ce=us_mi&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=goog&utm_campaign=all_standard”>http://lp.blurb.com/flashsale?ce=us_mi&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=goog&utm_campaign=all_standard</a></p>
<p>Thank you for all the wonderful ideas! So many different paths I can take. Leaning to something printed as my handwriting is atrocious. I think as long as I am typing recipes up, I’ll keep a digital copy in addition to get a recipe book printed. I do like the idea of reprinting some of the old recipe cards in my grandmother’s handwriting as well as including family photos. @dyui13, thanks for the reminder on thinking about clear instructions. My kids are decent cooks but I tend to not follow printed recipes too closely so will need to incorporate how I really do things. </p>
<p>I did it for a group of friends. It was 10 years ago, so I’m sure there are better options today. I found a free recipe software program that I used to type in all the recipes. I printed it out and had copies made at Staples and had them bound there also.</p>
<p>This has me thinking, as my person recipe collection is taped into a black bound theme book and becoming fragile. I could photograph the recipes, and have copies made with Snapfish or the like. This would preserve some of the sweet features of the book, like my girls illustrations from years ago. My kids would appreciate those recipes. </p>
<p>My mom and son did this a few years ago–got favorite recipes from the whole family, and incorporated family photos. They did a hard bound book, using Blurb.com self publishing. I think they had templates. My son is a computer guy, but he said it was very easy. It was wonderful Christmas gift!</p>
<p>It’s not cute or sentimental, but I have been putting all my recipes on a shared Google Doc, that lets the readers access any recipe any time & has been handy.</p>