Simply Recipes 2019 Gift Guide: The Cookbook Lover (2024)

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Shopping for the cookbook lover in your life? Let the Simply Team help! With ten standout books, this year crossing people off your list has never been easier.

By

Megan Gordon

Simply Recipes 2019 Gift Guide: The Cookbook Lover (1)

Megan Gordon

Since 2010, Megan has been active in the food media world. She's a marketer and brand consultant, food writer, culinary teacher, and cookbook author.

Learn about Simply Recipes'Editorial Process

Published November 22, 2019

Simply Recipes 2019 Gift Guide: The Cookbook Lover (2)

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Simply Recipes 2019 Gift Guide: The Cookbook Lover (3)

In our opinion, some of the best gifts are cookbooks. They're both useful and inspirational, educational and even aspirational. The best encourage us to hop into the kitchen or...hop on a plane to a faraway land (we can dream, right?)

This year our team put our heads together to bring you our favorites: some brand new, others simply notable, and one immense classic that's been updated and re-released.

So what are we waiting for? Let's get cooking (and gifting)!

  • The Joy of Cooking, New 2019 Edition

    Emma alerted us to the re-release of this classic cooking tome, and we think Irma Rombauer would approve! This new edition was revised and expanded by her great-grandson and his wife, with more than 600 new recipes and updates to thousands of the preexisting classics to account for modern methods and ingredients. We love the new chapter on streamlined cooking and saving time and money, as well as the modern nod to techniques like sous vide and grilling. An indispensable and inspiring reference and resource for any home cook on your list this year!

    Buy it: The Joy of Cooking, by Irma S. Rombauer, $17 from Amazon

  • Jubilee

    Every now and again, a truly special cookbook is released, a cookbook of the likes we've not yet seen. Such is the case with Jubilee, a celebratory look at African-American cooking. We're not talking just soul food here, we're talking food made by enslaved master chefs, black entrepreneurs, and free caterers among others, largely created in the homes of the elite and shared widely - today adapted for the modern kitchen.

    Buy it: Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking, by Toni Tipton-Martin, $20 from Amazon

  • Simple Cake

    Simple Cake is one of Megan's favorite books of the year: it's beautifully photographed and boasts 10 base cake recipes that you can use to create any number of humble or not-so-humble creations to celebrate any occasion (or just the fact that it's Tuesday and your family loves coconut cake).

    Buy it: Simple Cake: All You Need to Keep Your Friends and Family in Cake, by Odette Williams, $14 from Amazon

  • Extra Helping

    Another of Megan's picks this year, Extra Helping contains over 70 recipes for cooking for those who need an extra hand: our community, our ailing friends and neighbors, our coworker that just had a baby, our sister who had a bad week. This book is about so much more than food: it's about showing up and being kind ... and eating the best chocolate pudding you've ever tried along the way.

    Buy it: Extra Helping: Recipes for Caring, Connecting, and Building Community One Dish at a Time, by Janet Reich Elsbach, $20 from Amazon

    Continue to 5 of 10 below.

  • An Everlasting Meal

    While not a new book, Summer says Everlasting Meal will forever have a place on her bookshelf, front and center: "It’s less of a cookbook and more a philosophy on how we should approach cooking." Bonus? The prose is beautifully crafted, and the words stick with you long after the book is done.

    Buy it: An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace, by Tamar Adler, $13 from Amazon

  • Whole Food Cooking Every Day

    A new vegetarian cookbook by Amy Chaplin that we love for its truly innovative organization (hello, entire chapters devoted to Waffles and Cauliflower Bakes), to-die-for recipes, and tips on incorporating fewer processed foods into your diet in a very approachable, delicious way.

    Buy it: Whole Food Cooking Every Day, by Amy Chaplin, $31 from Amazon

  • Midwest Made

    Emma's vote for the cookbook she's been most excited about getting her hands on this year: "As a Midwest native, I can confidently say that the Midwest has the corner on delicious baked sweets. This cookbook will get you through the holidays, school bake sales, summer backyard potlucks, and any other event that needs a little something sweet."

    Buy it: Midwest Made, by Shauna Sever, $22 from Amazon

  • The Adventurous Eaters Club

    Our whole team has fallen hard for this inspiring cookbook full of recipes, tips and personal anecdotes for getting your kids excited about eating real, whole foods (yes, even including - gasp - kale). Trade the power struggles and negotiation in for exploring and trying new things thanks to the Collins' innovative recipes and laid back advice for creating an adventurous, welcoming kitchen at home. It's never too late!

    Buy it: The Adventurous Eaters Club: Mastering the Art of Family Mealtime, by Misha Collins, $14 from Amazon

    Continue to 9 of 10 below.

  • Everyday is Saturday

    Sarah Copeland is no stranger to family-friendly cooking and her latest cookbook proves that actually getting dinner on the table each weeknight is, indeed, a doable endeavor! With dozens of make-ahead tips and scaled-up recipes so you're guaranteed leftovers to freeze, we can't stop talking about this time-saving approach (or that chocolate snacking loaf cake).

    Buy it: Every Day is Saturday: Recipes + Strategies for Easy Cooking, Every Day of the Week, by Sarah Copeland, $29 from Amazon

  • Smitten Kitchen Every Day

    Summer, our Senior Editor, can't recommend Deb Perelman's newest family-friendly tome enough: "I have to say this is one of my go-to cookbooks for regular weekday cooking. Many of the recipes are simple enough that I can commit them to memory after only making them a couple of times."

    Buy it: Smitten Kitchen Every Day, by Deb Perelman, $17 from Amazon

Simply Recipes 2019 Gift Guide: The Cookbook Lover (2024)

FAQs

How many pages does a recipe book have? ›

Keep in mind that the average size of a cookbook is about 75 to 200 pages. On average, a typical cookbook will have around 150 recipes, but that varies as well, from small cookbooks with just 15 recipes to more than 300.

What makes a successful recipe book? ›

Here are some tricks to make sure your cookbook becomes a cherished, time-tested kitchen companion for your readers.
  1. Identify your audience. ...
  2. Create an outline. ...
  3. Title your recipes thoughtfully. ...
  4. Use consistent names and measurements. ...
  5. Follow the common recipe structure. ...
  6. Test your recipes, and then retest.
May 19, 2020

Who wrote the Smitten Kitchen cookbook? ›

Serious Eats says “it's about time [Deb Perelman] published a cookbook!” and cooks the book. Deb Perelman was on Let's Talk Live (WJLA-TV, Washington DC). The Forward says of The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook, “not only are the dishes good, Perelman is a deft, funny, and vivid mentor.”

What is the average word count of a cookbook? ›

Please keep in mind each publisher has different contract terms. This is a single subject book with lots of history, narrative, and full color throughout. The cookbook would be approximately 50,000 to 150,000 words with 40 photos.

How many recipes do you need for a cookbook? ›

The standard expectation is that a cookbook should have between 70 and 100 recipes, but larger compendiums have at least 200. Think carefully about how many you want to include.

What is the number one selling cookbook of all time? ›

Betty Crocker's Cookbook (originally called Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book) by Betty Crocker (1950) – approx. 65 million copies.

How much money can you make from a recipe book? ›

Cookbooks easily sell for 2–4 times their cost, allowing you to earn $500 to $50,000 or more! We're so sure you'll make money that we back it with our No-Risk Guarantee.

Is a recipe book a good gift? ›

You already know that cookbooks make for excellent gifts for the food lovers on your list. With a bit of extra shopping, it can be a truly special one, too.

What famous cookbook did Julia Child write? ›

Mastering the Art of French Cooking is a two-volume French cookbook written by Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle, both from France, and Julia Child, who was from the United States. The book was written for the American market and published by Knopf in 1961 (Volume 1) and 1970 (Volume 2).

Did Linda Ronstadt write a cookbook? ›

“Feels Like Home: A Song for the Sonoran Borderlands,” arrives Tuesday, Oct. 4, written by Ronstadt and Downes with photographs by Steen. So while it does contain some recipes, most of them reaching back generations, it's not really a cookbook.

How many Smitten Kitchen cookbooks are there? ›

Smitten Kitchen Keepers: New Classics For Your Forever Files, my third cookbook, came out November 2022.

How big should a recipe book be? ›

However, the standard cookbook size is the medium cookbook size of 7.5 x 9.25 inches. Some cookbook authors prefer a roomier size and opt for the 7.75 x 10.25 inch trim size to best make use of white space.

What is the standard size for a recipe book? ›

A traditional cookbook is going to be 8.5×11, but that may not work for what you have envisioned. We have. Great range of sizes available for our books, as small as 5.5 x 8.5 and as large as 12 x 12.

What size should a recipe book be? ›

Cookbook Sizes Standard

Portrait Size – The traditional portrait cookbook size is A4 or 8.5 × 11 inches. Landscape Size – The ideal landscape cookbook size measures around 11 × 8.5 inches. Square Size – Also a popular option is the square cookbook size which is around 12 × 12 inches.

What should be included in a recipe book? ›

8 Tips For Writing a Cookbook
  1. Table of Contents: How Will You Break Up Your Recipe Groups? Meal types, such as breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack. ...
  2. Cook Your Recipes. ...
  3. Check You Haven't Missed an Ingredient. ...
  4. Put the Ingredients in Order. ...
  5. Choose a Language. ...
  6. Standardise Your Measurements. ...
  7. Pick Great Photos. ...
  8. Add Extras.
Jun 5, 2018

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