Vintage Cookbooks with Recipes that Stand the Test of Time

The best vintage cookbooks with fan favorite retro recipes and where they are still available for purchase online.

When you get to be the age that I am (closer to 60 than 50;)), one of the perks you have in life is remembering what life was like “before”. Some of you who read this might not know first hand what life was like before cell phones, the internet, Google, Pinterest, and most recently – AI (artificial intelligence).

Can you even imagine what it was like for someone to plan a meal without their phone or computer to scroll through recipes on Pinterest, blogs, or websites?

I’m not saying that all these new things are wrong or bad. Absolutely not! In fact, I use them everyday, too. I do admit, though, that last year’s roll out of AI has changed the world for those of us who make their living writing on online spaces like this. My brain can’t spit out text of a topic nearly as fast as robotic AI can – even if I am an “expert” in some field.

But, AI does have one big limitation when it comes to recipes. Yes, it can write a recipe out quicker than a whistle based on scientific equations and substitutions – but you know what AI can’t do? It can’t apply common sense when an ingredient amount seems off – or actually cook and test them out!

The Community of Cooking and Sharing Recipes before Technology

I grew up in a culture of passionate cooks. Our small town farming community was made up of hard working women who took great pride in their homemaking abilities and loved to share their care for each other with carefully crafted treats from their home kitchens.

And, you know what was fun for them? Reading cookbooks!!

I remember my Grandma Bernice and Aunt Lois sitting in recliner chairs – each with a cookbook in thier hands and commenting about the recipes found in the pages of each.

Some would get an exclamation of, “Oh, this sounds good!” and others would get a response of peels of laughter and roars of, “this would be AWFUL!”

My mom was one of the first subscribers to the monthly magazine “Farm Wife News”, and her favorite section was the recipes. Later Reimen publishing came out with the wildly popular “Taste of Home” magazine – and it was a regular feature in our home, too!

Cooking up memories with vintage cookbooks

Many of the precious ladies who I grew up watching and learning from in their kitchens have passed away now.

I’ve realized one of the most precious legacies I’ve recieved from them is the memories from thier kitchens – and their cookbooks and recipe cards!

Next to the vintage buffet table that sat in my parents’ dining room in the farmhouse I grew up in, my mom’s and grandmas’ cookbooks & recipes are my most precious treasures.

In them – and the dozens and dozens of handwritten recipes of theirs and their friends – are a heritage of memories.

As I sat down to choose what recipes to feature here on the blog this year, I realized I wanted to feature thiers.

The recipes now considered “retro” and “vintage” are the ones that have stood the test of time – and bring back a flood of memories for me.

Vintage Cookbooks and where to find them

I thought you might enjoy seeing the cookbooks that are the ones I frequently open the pages of – and feature recipes here on the blog. If I found them still available to purchase, I’ve put the links in their description.

Disclosure: The links below are featured for your shopping convenience. Some or all of them may be affiliate links.

1. Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, copyright 1989

This is the cook book that guided me through my first days of cooking as a newlywed. I was gifted it at one of my bridal showers and read the recipe instructions in it as if my life depended on it! I still pick it up when it’s time to make oven baked rice, chicken enchiladas, and dinner rolls. You can still find it available for purchase (used) here on Amazon.

2. Betty Crocker’s New Picture Cook Book

Can you tell how much my Mom used and loved this cookbook? It is so well used and loved that the front cover fell off and the repair job of clear packing tape did too!

This was the book that most often was open on the formica counter of my Mom’s farmhouse kitchen. She always laughed and said the dirtiest pages were the most delicious recipes!;)

It is in that book that I use the recipe for butterscotch filling for our kids’ favorite birthday vanilla cake, the best lemon meringue pie, & the banana cream pie my husband loves. Judging by the dirty page rule, I should probably be trying out the sour dough french bread or the double- quick coffee bread. They both bear the marks of well loved pages!

I just about had a heart attack when I checked to see if it is still available for purchase. It is here. Sadly, my mom’s front page is missing, so I’m not sure which edition hers is, but regardless, it’s worth a pretty penny. Forget about hiding the jewelry – I need to lock up my vintage cookbooks!! tee hee…

3. Betty Crocker’s Picture Cook Book, copyright 1950

This was my mom’s mom’s cookbook – Grandma Jennie, I called her. Grandma Jennie’s cookbook is an older version of my Mom’s and in pretty good shape considering its age. My mom treated it as a precious treasure when Grandma moved into a retirement home and gave it to her. You can purchase it (used) here.

4. Church Lady Cookbooks

If you are out and about at thrift shops and yard sales, keep your eye out for vintage church lady cookbooks. They’re the BEST!!

I have a variety of them from my other Grandma – my Dad’s Mom – who I called Grandma Bernice. These precious cookbooks have recipes with absolutely no pictures or illustrations, the instructions are often very vague, and sometimes typos abound! They’re my favorite…

Grandma Bernice loved to follow recipes from church lady cookbooks and thankfully, noted which ones were “good”, “very good” and “don’t try this one again!” ha ha!!

I was thrilled to discover one of Grandma’s church lady cookbooks was for sale online…but sadly, it’s sold out.

5. The Mennonite Treasury of Recipes, copyright 1982

My mother-in-law (who is also in glory now, too) introduced me to a whole new culinary world of cooking – Mennonite cooking.

Her style of cooking was very different than what I grew up with. Rather than following recipes in a recipe book, my mother-in-law rarely used exact recipes! She cooked with ratios and a coffee mug was her measuring cup.

Rarely did she make any dish the exact same way twice, but oh, my goodness, could she cook!

She would whip up farmer’s sausage with cottage cheese perogies, cream gravy and strawberry sauce – and my boys just couldn’t get enough of it!

I would watch her work her magic in the kitchen and have a pen and paper handy, and wrote down recipes so I could have them later – and I’m so glad I did. She baked buns nearly every week in life, and I’m grateful for this bun recipe of hers her daughter wrote down of the process.

In the event she wanted to actually follow a recipe or look at one for direction, the only cookbook she ever reached for was the Mennonite Treasury. My husband has graciously agreed to help me re-create some of his family recipes to put here on the blog. (Stay tuned!)

I found this copy of the Mennonite Treasury cookbook online…but it’s not cheap either!;)

Vintage Recipes on Handwritten Cards

Although I know there isn’t a way to pass on to you where you can get my specific collection of handwritten vintage recipe cards, some of you probably have a collection of your own!

I encourage you to think of ways you can pass on your heritage of recipes and memories from the kitchen to the next generation. I find that they are really special to some of them, too!

I even put together a post of ideas for how to use handwritten recipes as gifts.

Want some recipes from these Vintage Cookbooks and handwritten recipe cards?

Well, some of them are already here on my blog, but I’ll be sharing more of them.

Following a recipe recommended by a family member or friend is one of my favorite things to do. Yes, I have tested recipes and come up with a few of my own, but that’s not my real passion.

I love to use the “old faithful” ones – the ones that have passed the test of time – and been so used the pages are spattered and sprinkled with vanilla, sugar, and a whole lot of love.

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