Lucille Curcio and her Christmas Cookie Cookbook

In January, 760 Cookbook Editors responded to our survey and the results are outstanding! I have been sorting through the data and we will release the results next month, but many of the comments provided were very touching and heart warming and I wanted to share some of them with you.

I’ve also included some of the wonderful photos our editors have submitted with photos of them and their cookbooks. The photos do not necessarily go with the quote they appear with.

Quotes from Family Cookbook Editors

This company made it as easy as possible for a non-computer type like me to navigate the tasks.
–Nancy, A Cookbook for Nancy’s Grandchildren

I made this cookbook as a gift to my daughter for her 29th birthday. The recipes were collected from my mother, grandmother, sister, mother in law and my own collection. Both mothers and grandmother have passed away. So the sentiment and hard work behind this book has several meanings. My daughter cried when she read the inscription and realized what was in her hands, what was just given to her. Thank you for creating such a wonderful website for all of us to share. Blessings,
–Kathy, Kay Kay’s Recipes

Getting in and out of the website to add recipes is so convenient. The templates offered for organizing and recording recipes are really useful and well done! I’m glad to have a continual (lifetime) repository for important recipes I want to save for the family. We published our first edition in honor of our first daughter’s wedding and gave cookbooks to extended family members and close friends. It included pictures of her wedding. Many of us refer to it often for recipes and get reminded of such a lovely time. I also really enjoy the clever quotes provided by Family Recipe Cookbook. The spiral binding, page dividers, and format look really nice. We hope to collect more recipes and publish another edition when another daughter gets married.
—Jeri Spurling, The Veree Tastee Family Cookbook Project

I have created cookbooks for non-profits from several different cookbook printing companies. Family Cookbook has been by far the easiest to work with and best to obtain the end product I wanted.
–Debby, The Family Cookbook

Your user-friendly program made my project enjoyable to put together. The professional book that you published after my editing made me look like a professional cookbook author. The best part for me and the greatest compliment to you is the reaction from my family when they opened their gift of the cookbook. They were teary-eyed with memories of the recipes, gratitude and love for Gramma Anne. Thank you so much for an enjoyable & excellent product.
–Elizabeth, Gramma Anne’s Favorite Recipes

Katy Hale with Cardinal Cooks! Friends & Family Favorites 2020

Creating my cookbook started out as a family cookbook, but as time went on, my family members were not very helpful. So I decided to make a cookbook that I could leave for my two daughters to have when I’m no longer alive. Turned out to be the best decision I could’ve ever made. Now, the family members that didn’t contribute actually want to purchase a copy of the cookbook because I included recipes I personally created as well as family recipes mom made while growing up in Mississippi. It’s been very easy adding the ingredients list and editing the recipes. It’s taken me a little more time to add the instructions to the cookbook because I’m going through each recipe, making it, and then editing the instructions so it’s easier for my daughters to make it with better directions. Once this treasure of a cookbook is complete, my daughters won’t have to wonder, “Now, how did mom make this!” It’s already documented.
–Shamecca, Blessed Hands

I was thrilled when I received my finished published cookbooks! They turned out better than I ever expected! It was such a joy to create it as I planned it as a surprise Christmas gift for my daughters. I had always wanted to pass down our family favorite recipes from their grandmothers and other family members. It was an emotional experience when they received it! Thank you!
–Anonymous

Sheree Reese FAMILY COOKBOOK The website was very user friendly, so I found the process very enjoyable. The only frustration I felt came from my actual family!
–Lenore, The Knutzen Family Cookbook with Family Friends

My daughter-in-law begged me for years to give her all my old Italian and Portuguese recipes that were handed down from my relatives. I finally decided to do it, so I researched a dozen sites that offered cookbook programs. I actually started a book on two of them…but finally gave up. They were difficult to maneuver, impossible to edit, and low on the totem pole with customer service. Thank goodness I finally found The Great Family Cookbook Project! It is well organized, has lots of options, customer service is great if you ever need it (not likely) … and SO easy to use that when I gave the first version to my daughter-in-law last Christmas, I actually had to LIE to tell her how hard I worked to put it together!
–Anonymous

This is a wonderful – and easy! – way to share those family recipes that get passed down through the generations. I was able to not only add the recipes, but I could also add photos of the finished meals!
–Elise, The Gillem Family Cookbook – Our Favorites Through the Years

The Balogh Family Cookbook is our first cookbook as a memory of my mother who was an amazing person and who has provided us many great recipes. My son and I translated her handwritten recipes from Hungarian to English in order to preserve the recipes for the next generation.
–Anonymous

I am still working on my cookbook. My mother died four years ago and it has taken me a long time to be able to look at her recipes without crying. Now I realize she would be so proud to know I am doing this for future generations.
–Vicki, Momma’s Memories

Starting this project initially was just a way to organize my recipes to share with some friends. Once I saw how easy it was to use the software, I decided why not do a cookbook for charity. I serve on the board of The Salvation Army and our family has a scholarship fund at the local community college so with my sister’s help we decided to offer the proceeds from the sale of our cookbook to go to these two organizations. Within a couple of weeks of receiving our cookbooks it was sold out and we were able to share the proceeds with two deserving nonprofits. It has been a very rewarding experience that helped others in need and was a great gift to our family.
–Jinger and Karen, Jinger’s and Karen’s Favorite Recipes

I first used this site to make a cookbook so my kids would have our family recipes. I had so much fun making it and the response from our friends and family was so great that I made a second cookbook for wedding gifts. Now I’m making a third one also for gifts. I recommend Family Cookbook Project to all my friends. Thanks.
–Jessica

I volunteered to head up our family cookbook. It was the easiest project I have ever done. Cookbook staff is great and no question is too small.
–Gail, Eaton, Jorae, and Plunkett Reunion Remembrances Cookbook

With my parents retiring, it seemed like the perfect time to memorialize some family recipes. It started as a gift for my mom, but she is enjoying contributing and making the food so we can get photos of it too. It has become a family project. She also has a lot of great family memories to add.
–Anonymous

Barbara Cortese and The Inserra and Cifarelli Family Cookbook

Francie’s Family Favorites was a work of love for me. I’m Francie’s third child and one of eight. It took me about two years to complete the cookbook. The main reason it took some time was that many of Mom’s recipes were actually just a list of ingredients, often with no or very general amounts. So I had to work with Mom to formulate actual recipes. This turned out to be the best part of the process. I got to spend hours visiting with Mom chatting about the recipes, her cooking experiences over the years, and many more family memories. I finished the cookbook in time for Christmas 2019. Mom passed in May 2020. I spent much of this past holiday season making recipes I’d enjoyed Mom making over the years but never made myself. Using the cookbook keeps me close to her. Thanks.
–Chris, Francie’s Family Favorites

Our grandparents owned a restaurant for many years. Our cookbook project allowed us to share precious family memories and recipes with the whole extended family and have them contribute treasured recipes from all the different cultures that have joined our family in the succeeding generations.
–Nanette, The Doherty Family Cookbook

It was a fun project. I gave a cookbook to each of my 5 grandchildren for Christmas this year along with various kitchen utensils. The age range is 13-27. They said it’s the best gift they ever got and will cherish it.
–Elaine, Gaga’s Secret Recipes

2 years ago, I realized I wasn’t going to live forever and wanted to created an impartation to my children that I called “The Heritage”. It was a deep message from my heart and a collection of works, included over 70 recipes that I wanted to put together in a book to be given to them and later passed on. Thank you so much for making this daunting task, not only less difficult but do-able! The Family Cookbook website is a great tool to help make my dream a reality.
–Anonymous

The best part of the site is that it is a site designed to get you up and running, making a cookbook for those who have no experience in doing something like this. There are lots of places online where you could self publish a book, but no other options that I know of that specialize in making a cookbook. You guys have really hit the exact balance between making this process as simple as it could have been with maximal results.
–Anonymous

Cory and Cory’s Cookbook: All Time Favorites

I have numerous cook books taking up space in my kitchen. Many of these have pages tagged of my most loved recipes. I loved the idea of having ALL my recipes in one place, as well as writing recipes for homemade dishes that my family loves. My boys’ loved this idea and asked if their significant others could add to the book too. I then opened it up to the girls and their mothers (more family recipes to be kept). The only thing that I asked is that every recipe they added must have been tried previously…thus the name of our cookbook “Recipes that Don’t Suck”. I can’t wait for the day that we finally have it finished!
–Lisa, Recipes that don’t Suck

This is just a hand full of the wonderful comments that our editors have provided to us. We will be adding additional comments down the road.

Bill Rice is founder and Co-Publisher of the Great Family Cookbook Project, a website that helps families and individuals collect and share food memories through customized printed cookbooks filled with treasured recipes. Follow us on Facebook and Pinterest!