How to Make a Family Cookbook Using Your Family Recipes

Family cookbooks are classic gifts. What better way to celebrate your family than by giving a cookbook containing recipes from your grandparents and great-grandparents?

I have collected many recipes over the years and am considering creating my own cookbook.

I found the following steps to take:

1. Pick a theme! A cookbook is versatile. You can pick and choose what goes into your cookbook. You decide how many pages it will have and what it will look like.

2. You can include old family recipes or just your family favorites.

3. Gather all your recipes, photos, and stories. If you are fortunate enough to have handwritten recipes from your ancestors, scan them to preserve their original look, grease stains, and all!

4. Design your cookbook. How do you want to bring it to life? You can make a classic cookbook, a simple binder, or even a collection of recipe cards.

5. Include in your cookbook a table of contents or index, sections or chapters, and be sure to add an introduction from yourself. Always leave some blank pages at the end for notes.

You now have the tools available to you for creating your own cookbook for your family. Now would be a good time to start. With the holidays quickly approaching, you could give a copy to your family members as a keepsake gift.

Here are a couple of my favorite family recipes!

Pecan Pie

You will need:

• 1 cup white corn syrup

• 1 cup dark brown sugar

• ⅓ cup melted butter

• 1 cup pecans

• 3 eggs, beaten

• Dash vanilla

• Pinch salt

• 9-inch unbaked pie crust (store-bought is fine)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients and pour into pie crust. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes. The Center will be slightly jiggly. Let cool completely before serving.

Sweet Potato Casserole

You will need:

• 6 to 8 sweet potatoes

• 1 stick of melted butter

• Salt

• ¾ cup of brown sugar

• 1 teaspoon of all-spice

• ¾ cup of orange juice

Boil 6 to 8 large sweet potatoes until soft. Cut them into and boil with the jackets on. Let cool, then take skins off and place in a large mixing bowl. Add the rest of your ingredients. Use a potato masher and mash to the consistency you like. Place in a 9 X 11 pan. Bake at 350° until heated through. For the last 10 minutes, you can add marshmallows and let them melt until a little browned on top. You can also add a bit of bourbon into the mix if you cut the orange juice down.

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