Need a recipe? Literally thousands of them are as close as your fingertips with just a click of the mouse on the Internet. That’s in addition to all of the new cookbooks every year on bookstore shelves, plus different selections every day in magazines and newspapers.

So you might wonder, why anyone would go to the trouble of making their own cookbook?

For Veda Heldenbrand of Gallatin, Mo., the reason is family. You could Google all day and never find Mrs. Heldenbrand’s secret recipe for salmon patties or her mother-in-law’s recipe for scalloped tomatoes.

“My husband and I both come from large families,” she says. “He is from a family of 12, and I am from a family of nine. They’re scattered all over the United States. I wanted to preserve some of the recipes and pass them on.”

So now everyone can know exactly how to make Mrs. Heldenbrand’s pie crust, which always turns out flaky and delicious. And they can duplicate the same tender, oven-smoked brisket she makes for special events and family get-togethers. Generations to come, who will never know Mrs. Heldenbrand’s sister Louise (Brooks) Riley, now deceased, can still enjoy her caramel cake with magic icing. (See recipe at right.)

Family also is the reason that Beth Mires of Maryville, Mo., put together “Supper’s Ready, Meals and Memories with the Mires Family.” Unlike Mrs. Heldenbrand, Ms. Mires does not consider herself a cook, but she is experienced on the computer. Her aunt, News-Press Business Editor Susan Mires, had been gathering recipes and family photos for close to a year.

“She handed them to me and said, “Here I want you to make a cookbook.”

So she sorted the recipes into categories, then typed them into the catalog option of Microsoft Publisher. They added family history, photos, prayers and quotes to make it special. After it was the way they wanted it, they took the pages to the UPS store, where they made copies and cut the pages. Then, the women bound the pages themselves using blue spiral combs. The finished product cost around $600 to make 200 copies, Susan Mires says.

Mrs. Heldenbrand wanted a little more help for her cookbook and used Morris Press (morriscook books.com) to print them.

“They send you a kit with a lot of options to choose from,” she says.

You can either mail in the recipes or type them onto the company Web site. She knew she wanted to name the cookbook “Feed my lambs,” and she wanted a hard cover. So she chose a yellow, vinyl cover with artwork depicting a mother lamb and her baby. The cost was double that of the Mires family spent, but it should be sturdy enough to pass down for generations to come. And she has already sold 300 of them, recouping some of her expenses.

If your only goal is to gather up your mother’s stained recipe cards and compile them into a cookbook suitable for a Christmas present, you might want to try an online publisher such as Lulu.com.

“We have print on demand technology, so we print as few as one at a time,” says Lauren Parker, Lulu.com senior communications specialist.

“We don’t print anything until it’s bought, so you don’t have to do any up-front large orders.”

Prices start at $4.53 for binding and two cents a page for black and white. If you want to make a 100-page, 8½ inch-by-11 inch plastic spiral bound cookbook, for example, the cost of the book would be $6.53, she says. Adding color and photos would cost $19.53. They also give discounts for bulk orders. After submitting your recipes, allow about five days for printing plus shipping time. And should the demand for your cookbook begin to grow, you can sell it to the public on the lulu.com Web site. They also offer a distribution package that allows your cookbook to be sold on amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.

“Lulu.com democratizes the process of publishing,” Ms. Parker says. “Traditional publishing houses can only pick maybe 10 titles a year of a certain genre. That doesn’t make your information any less valid or important.”

Whatever method you use, she suggests getting a proof copy first. And if you plan to make one for Christmas gifts, get started now.

Lifestyles reporter Sylvia Anderson may be reached at sylviaanderson@npgco.com

Recipes

Louise Riley’s caramel cake with magic icing

1 box butter cake mix (bake as directed)

Magic caramel icing:

2 sticks butter

2 cups buttermilk

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoons vanilla

Melt butter in a large pan. Add milk and sugar. As mixture reaches a boil, add soda. (Careful, it may boil over.) Stir constantly over medium heat until mixture reaches soft ball stage. Remove from heat and add vanilla and beat until smooth. Spread on cake.

— “Feed my Lambs” by Veda Heldenbrand

Oven-smoked

brisket of beef

5- to 6-pound trimmed beef brisket

Marinade

1 (10-ounce) bottle of soy sauce

2 beef bouillon cubs, dissolved in 1½ cups water

1/4 teaspoons garlic salt

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/2 (3½ ounce) bottle of liquid smoke

Place brisket into a large pan and pour marinade over. This could be put in a large Ziploc bag. Marinade overnight, turning once or twice. Take out of marinade, reserving 1 cup. Place heavy foil in bottom of large heavy baking or roaster pan. Place brisket in foil and wrap tightly. Add reserved cup of marinade and 1 cup water. Bake at 250 degrees for five to six hours. If pan boils dry, add water, 1 cup at a time. Remove from oven and cool. Slice and pour barbecue sauce on top if desired. Re-wrap and heat for 15 minutes.

— “Feed my Lambs” by Veda Heldenbrand

(To get a copy of the cookbook “Feed my Lambs,” call (660) 663-3663. The cost is $15 per copy plus $2 shipping)

Paula Haataja’s

Yum Yum salad

2 cups hot water

2 packages lemon Jello

Mix these.

Drain large can crushed pineapple — add enough water to juice to make 1½cups. Add juice/water and 3/4 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons lemon Juice. Refrigerate until starts to congeal. Whip with mixer, fold in pineapple, 2 cups grated cheddar cheese and 2 cups whipped cream. Refrigerate.

— “Supper’s Ready. Meals and Memories with the Mires Family.”

Hugh Mires fried green tomatoes

4 green tomatoes, cut 1/4 inch thick

1 teaspoon onion salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup cornmeal

1/2 cup drippings (oil or lard could be substituted)

Sprinkle tomatoes with onion salt and pepper. Dredge in cornmeal. Fry in drippings until browned.

— “Supper’s Ready. Meals and Memories with the Mires Family.”

(To get a copy of the cookbook contact Susan Mires at 271-8560 or susanm@npgco.com. Cookbooks are $5 plus shipping.)