10+ Best Cookbook Gift Ideas

Trying to find the perfect gift for someone that loves to cook? Check out these 10+ best cookbook gift ideas!

I've loved cooking about as long as I can remember. Before helping in the kitchen, I remember flipping through cookbooks with my mom looking for new ideas as a young child.

These days, I still love my cookbooks and enjoy getting new ones to read front to back like most people do with "normal" books. I also love getting cookbooks as gifts and giving them to my cooking friends as well.

Whether it's for Mother's Day, a birthday, the holidays, a thank you or just because, cookbooks make attractive gifts that aren't usually too hard on your budget. Plus, if you're lucky, the cook you gift to might just bring you a few samples to taste!

If you're looking for cookbook gift ideas, see these 10 awesome cookbooks for gifts below.

The nice thing is that many of these are also available on Kindle, so if you're looking to give a really special gift you could pre-load some onto a Kindle or other tablet as a gift.

10+ Best Cookbook Gift Ideas

1.  The Cook's Illustrated Baking Book - If you spend much time here, you probably know that I love baking and even consider it relaxing.  That's why I love this cookbook which is chock full of not only awesome recipes, but step-by-step instructions that explain why certain methods or ingredients are better than others.

2.  Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving - Growing up, we had a small garden that still yielded enough to can even after sharing and enjoying.  Today I still love canning and making preserves and enjoy this book as my go-to guide. Plus, preserving foods is a nice way to save a bit of money as food costs seem to keep rising.

3.  The Cake Mix Doctor - Years ago most bakers wouldn't have been caught dead using cake mixes, but these days they taste so good (often even better after doctoring), you can't tell the difference between them and completely from scratch.  So, when I want a cake and don't have the time for all the measuring or don't have the ingredients, I love finding ways to doctor up a cake mix from this cookbook.

4.  The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl - I fell in love with Ree's (or PW as we often call her) blog and recipes a number of years ago for her wide variety of wholesome recipes with real ingredients, and her hilarious stories about ranch life.

5.  Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery that Revolutionizes Home Baking - Back in the days when I didn't have a stand mixer and lacked the time (and space) to knead out my own fresh dough, I was totally intrigued by this book.  Even though I now have a larger kitchen and a stand mixer, I find myself going back to it quite often because who doesn't love a yummy artisan bread that takes minutes to prepare?

6.  Steaks, Chops, Roasts & Ribs - I'm totally a carnivore and will take meat over veggies and fruit any day, so I of course had to have a cookbook dedicated to meat.  This book is from the editors of Cook's Illustrated, who again provide great recipes with not only how-to's but why.

7.  Good Eats: The Early Years - Alton Brown is definitely my favorite food personality on the Food Network and I was so sad to see Good Eats come to an end as I think I could watch almost all the episodes over and over and never get tired of them.  Luckily, Alton released a few cookbooks covering the years full of the quirky whys and how-to's that we've come to expect.

8.  Paula Deen's Southern Cooking Bible: The New Classic Guide to Delicious Dishes with More Than 300 Recipes - I would have normally included The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook instead, but it is currently awaiting a new edition release this October that you can preorder. - Being a GRITS (girl raised in the south) with Paula's personal issues aside in recent years,  I still love Paula Deen with her warm personality and love of butter.  While most of the recipes are certainly not meant for everyday consumption, there's lots of good Southern family favorites here.

9.  Baking: From My Home to Yours - As I mentioned, I really love baking so I had to include one last baking-oriented cookbook!  This book is full of a variety of tasty dessert recipes that are perfect for the family or when you really want to impress.

10.  Mastering the Art of Cooking, 50th Anniversary Edition - I, of course, had to include a cookbook from one of my biggest culinary idols, Julia Child.

I find this cookbook to be a great resource for both the beginner and experienced cooks as it's full of both easy and complex recipes.  Plus, with over 500 recipes, it's a good go-to guide for dishes you may not have tried cooking before.

11. Dining On A Dime - This cookbook is great for the beginner cook or those looking for good, basic recipes.

It has over 1200 recipes for every meal and tips for cooking and even how to save a few bucks along the way. My favorite part is all the recipes have simple ingredients that most of us always have in our pantry.

Creative Ways To Gift Cookbooks

Want to gift a cookbook but make it a bit more special than just wrapping? Here are a few ideas for creative ways to gift cookbooks.

1. Make it part of a gift basket. Pair the cookbook with some cooking supplies like a skillet, knife, cutting board, etc. This is especially great for those just learning to cook or starting out on their own.

2. Gifting to someone that has come to you to learn how to cook? Make your favorite recipe from a cookbook you turn to often.

Then, gift both the cooked dish and cookbook - or invite them over to make the recipe with you!

3. Give the cookbook a personal touch. Make personal notes throughout the cookbook (or use sticky notes) of any changes or additions you make to the recipes that make them extra special.

You could even gift your favorite published cookbook but also include a binder of recipes passed down in your family throughout the years.