Cook'n Recipe Keeper Reviews

by Dave MCKEEHAN

I was an original buyer of Cook'n many years ago. I have used it to save/update my recipes. In late 2020 when Apple made the big sur upgrade, CooknRecipeKeeper continued to work but with one huge issue - it no longer displays all the hundreds of recipes I stored. I contacted tech support asking for a way to recover my recipes. Their reply was to upgrade to their cloud based subscription service version. I asked if that would not destroy my local database, and got no reply. I sent more emails, with no responses for close to 2 months. After filing several negative reviews the owner (Dan) contacted me. He said that they only had my original message and none of the responses, although all went to the same address. He said the new installation would work with my local files. I was able to get my recipes back. I should not have to file negative reviews to get a customer service reply. I like CooknRecipeKeeper .

by DSMmom

Update: support helped me figure out how to access my recipes that they still had in my account (by signing up for the monthly subscription, synced, then cancelled my subscription. This was their idea, not mine.). I changed my review to a 3⭐️ since I have my data back. I still think it's a cool app, especially for busy moms who cook a lot, but I can't justify the monthly cost for it at this stage of my life.
Original post edited: I've been a Cook'n customer for years. Paid for the desk top version then later paid for an upgrade (2011). When mobile came out they synced my recipes and I've been happily using the mobile version for years. Got a new phone and CooknRecipeKeeper wouldn't synchronize to my account. Contacted support and they can't find my email or account in their system. Pulled up app on my old phone, confirmed my email address was there and magically, support found me. BUT! They won't allow me to synchronize my recipes unless I subscribe. $5-$10/mo to store my recipes??!!

by J Welna

We have used CooknRecipeKeeper on our phones, tablets, and computers for quite some time. We use it daily for meal planning and to save favorite recipes. Our “Friends” encompass not only family but close associates and all love the ease of searching for favorites as well as adding new recipes to share and try! We also easily share recipes by email or text messages.

The attention to comparability is evident in the cross platform utility, (we are waiting for a better ‘Safari’ browser plug-in and “177 Milk Street” capture functionality 🤔). Milk Street embeds so much content that I imagine it is quite challenging to develop a means to capture. That being said it isn’t that difficult to manually copy and paste their recipes! One caveat, it takes some planning to embed a recipe into another. Once you get the hang of it you will find that you use that function often!

We have also used CooknRecipeKeeper for grocery lists as well as occasional meal planning. We often shop for bargains and then browse our personal recipes for suitable use.

CooknRecipeKeeper is a bargain. It is easy to use and we have collected many new favorites as well as preserved family recipes that would have been lost.

We recommend it for all, even a casual use will have you relying on Cook’n! We have a dedicated ancient iPad that sits proudly in the kitchen ready to display today’s dinner.

by Swboutique

As an owner of a Bakery for 5 years one of the best gifts I ever received was Cook’n. My daughter surprised me at Christmas one year with an app to keep all my recipes in one place and to help me better organize. Little did I know what a gift this would be. It is so much more than storage! I am able to create cookbooks to include all the recipes I want to keep. I can scan them, imbed other recipes in them, move them to other cookbooks...
I can also create cookbooks for my family that I can print or have professionally printed. I can capture recipes from the internet and direct them right into the cookbook I want. I use Cook’n almost daily for my Bakery and for whipping up dinner. I love that it shows me recipes I recently viewed, recipes recently added or most viewed recipes, but perhaps my favorite feature of all is the amazing tech support. Technology is not my strongest suit. No worries with CooknRecipeKeeper—if I can’t figure it out there is a support page that has all the common questions and if that doesn’t help I can send an email and usually within 24 hours I have the answer I needed. Thanks Cook’n for creating such a useful tool for me.

by Pat's Cookin

I’ve been using Cook’n since 2000 - when all recipes had to be typed in by hand and there wasn’t any way to add photos. It was very basic back then. Over the years they have added so many new wonderful features! And they are constantly adding new features to make a great product even better. When I was expecting house guests who were gluten free (no one in my family is gluten free), I downloaded the Cook’n Gluten Free Cookbook and also captured several gluten free recipes from the internet complete with photos. I used the Menu Planning feature to plan out my menus for while they were here and also used the shopping list feature! These were huge time savers.
On the few occasions that I have had to contact Tech Support , a Tech has gotten back to me quickly to solve my problem, even contacting me to be sure their suggested solution worked for me!
I have been cooking for over 50 years and Cook’n has helped me to be more creative when I cook. I had used 2 other recipe programs before I started using Cook’n and I have found Cook’n to be the BEST recipe software!

by Nanchale

I have used this cookbook and app for about 3 years now. I even made a family cookbook for my son. It is nice to be able to share the “family secrets” with him.
If you ever have a question you can always write to them. They get back to you within a day. This is the best cookbook app ever!
It is great to be able to check your recipes while you are at the grocery store too. You can access your cookbook from your computer, tablet and phone. You can even send a link to your family and friends. How can it get any better or more convenient than that. The monthly newsletter is very helpful in showing tips to get the most out of your cookbook. That shows they don’t sell you something and then forget you. Great company.
You can get great ideas from seeing what other recipes others are searching for. Now you can save searched for recipes without having unorganized scrap pieces of paper all around. We have all done that for years. 😊
This is worth every penny. Good going Cook’n!

by Mrshagg

After 25 years of cooking my recipe collection is massive and worst of all, scattered amongst many different types of recipe a as is a mess. Luckily CooknRecipeKeeper solves my recipe problems!!! All my recipes, regardless of source, in 1 place! Awesome! The “capture” feature makes transferring recipes a breeze. It doesn’t always work perfectly so I usually view this e recipe, after I’ve captured it, to be sure it is accurate. I haven’t loaded all my recipes yet but I’m working on it.😁
At first I thought the “auto sync“ feature seemed convenient but I had to disable it. For whatever reason, it doesn’t accurately capture just the recipes from my detox, smoothie and fasting programs/recipes Pinterest board. If it worked properly it would be a great feature ~ who doesn’t love an app that allows for laziness? Until then, I’ll have to pass on using it as I have had to delete page after page of articles from my recipe book too many times already.

by Ach4el

I’ve been using CooknRecipeKeeper, first on my Mac laptop, and then finally on my phone when the mobile app became available. I waited months for the Mac version of this program to be re-developed and published. It is definitely the best of the ones that I reviewed before I ventured into an electronic version of a cookbook. I have quite a few cookbooks that I added to my collection over the years and I have hundreds of recipes that I have captured to add to my personal collections and share with family and friends. It is rare for me to have any problems with the program\app, but when they do occur, the support staff is always very helpful and have resolved all of my issues.
Speaking of support, I just purchased a new Mac laptop with the latest version of the OS so I need to transfer all my books and recipes to the new device. Support was very helpful in explaining how to do that & every instruction they gave me worked like a charm.
Well done!

by Debbie 2019

I have been a loyal user of Cook’n since their early days and continue to find it to be the BEST software on the market. It is remarkable to see the advancements Dan and his team have made over the years. I recently upgraded to the latest version of Cook’n and can’t believe all of the wonderful things you can now do with this program. The newest features make using Cook’n a dream. The ability to have all of my recipes at my fingertips anywhere I go is just fantastic. I love the ease with which you can import recipes from the Internet or Pinterest, add photos or videos to your recipe or scan directly into the program. It truly makes cooking for my family so much easier.
There is always a way to find answers to whatever questions you might have by exploring their website or contacting their support team. They are very responsive and eager to lend a helping hand. The videos that Dan has created make it easy to learn all the functions of this powerful program.
I highly recommend Cook’n to anyone who is looking for an easy way to become more organized, to have the ability to capture and share recipes or even make your own cookbooks. You won’t be disappointed with this program!

by Jim2156a

I started using Cook’n back in the old days when it was just a pc app. It has done nothing but gotten better and better with each version update. Now it’s on our iPhones and IPads. In all the years of using Cook’n I have had to email tech support 3 times and received fast and great support from them and problems were fixed. You can’t go wrong with CooknRecipeKeeper. 7/9/20 I had a problem with Cook’n, emailed cooking support in within two days had an answer and problem is fixed. They keep adding new features and fixing bugs at the users find and if you email them they will help you tech-support is really good there. I can’t say enough how good the staff and support is. Cook’n is a great program and I would recommend it to anyone. If you sit and read the bad reviews you see cook in responding to them and tries to fix the problems if the people will work with them. Keep up the great job you are doing!!!

by Adelita1123

This is THE best application for finding, saving and sharing recipes. I share recipes with my daughter and have access to her recipes. It is extremely easy to capture recipes to your cloud account from the internet. If you are, say at a doctor’s office, by just taking a photo, you can capture recipes from magazines and even your old handwritten recipes for safe keeping in the cloud. You can custom make and print your own cookbook and maybe give it as a present to your family and friends. A feature I just love... you can access your recipes anywhere and make sure you have all the ingredients you need to do the cook’n. Another great feature is how the software will analyze the nutritional value of your recipes which is great if you are watching your weight or are on a diet. It is worth the annual fee (I have the Standard Plan), and to top it all, they have wonderful service and support! I urge everyone who likes to cook or is interested in this type of software to give it a demo trial. You will love it, and, like me, will be hooked! I have never written a review before, but this is so good I could not let it go by without writing about it.

by Mother Of Israel

I’ve been using Cook’n for many years now. In fact, I used to purchase the Cook’n Software. I have found the Program is really easy to use and also to keep track of your own personal recipes. It allowed me to capture recipes off the internet when I found one I want to try. I really enjoy having it on my Computer, iPhone and iPad. It has made it so much easier in planning meals and in preparing meals. When my schedule was too busy, I was able to look a recipe up, so I knew what ingredients I was going to purchase when stopping at the store before going home. When I was away from home and someone asked me for the recipe for the dish that I made for that event, I was able to share it with them right then. I love receiving the free Cookbooks as well each month. When there has been any issues, they have been so supportive looking into the situation to get the problem resolved.

by Kruss4

I have been using this program almost since the very beginning so have seen it come so very far. I actually don’t know what I would do without it. Not only do I have all my favorite recipes that I’ve actually made (and now can easily edit and share), But now instead of having folders, binders and drawers full of recipes that I’ve torn out of magazines, I have them easily organized in this fabulous app. And one of the other really cool features is if you are a premium member, their support staff is the best of any program I’ve ever used. I always get personal responses to emails that I send asking how to do something no matter how complicated I think it is. I can’t say enough about this and highly recommend it to anyone who likes to collect recipes. With the new capture feature it couldn’t be easier to pull things from magazines, Blogs and other online sources.

by Mountaingirl.

UPDATE
The developers have gone above and beyond anything I’ve experienced in the past with any software company to address my issues. They have tweaked the “capture” process to help CooknRecipeKeeper “capture” a recipe in Cook’n format rather than the very busy website format. I found them to be most concerned and attentive to helping me with my issues and feel they now deserve 10 stars rather than the 5 that is possible. They even told me to keep in touch if there are any other “capture” issues and they will tweak those as well. Well done, gang! Thanks so much.

PREVIOUS
Like the features that are available. Really like when CooknRecipeKeeper reformats what you see on the recipe website into a much more readable recipe. HOWEVER, the downside to this feature is that it only works at most 50% of the time. So unfortunately, half my recipes remain cluttered with all the noise surrounding it, including moving, shifting, changing, annoying pop up ads.

Contacted the developer about this and was told it happens because of the way a website formats the recipe page. Seems to me some additional development or tweaking of the Cook’n app is needed.

Reformatting the recipe from its website was one of the features of Cook’n I was most looking forward to as I despise all the noise on websites. Sadly, I’m still waiting for that feature to work well.

by Looking4deals45

I’ve been using CookN from their early days and have watched it develop and transform through the years. I love all the latest features like importing Pinterest recipes, scanning recipes, adding pictures to recipes and a cool new feature where it lists the ingredient amount in the directions so I don’t have to keep scrolling back up to the ingredients list when my hands are messy from food prep! Most of all I love having my recipes sync on all my devices so I can see them anywhere especially while at the grocery store!
I recently had an issue syncing w Pinterest and customer service was quick to respond w step by step directions how to fix the problem.
Dan’s how to videos on all the newest features are really helpful to learn all that CooknRecipeKeeper can do!
I researched many recipe apps and am happy I found this one and have stayed with it to benefit from all the latest features it offers.

by Gebber920

I’ve had this program since the “dark ages” when it came on a CD. They were very helpful when I switched to a Mac and needed to know how to transfer all my information....or any other time I’ve had a question. It took a while in the beginning to enter all of my own recipes, but it was so worth it. I’m not sure what I would do without it. I pay a monthly fee so I can use the sync feature which I think is my favorite feature. We have a vacation home where we often spend weekends and it was always a pain to pull out recipe cards to take there and then re-file when we get home. I just pull out my iPad or phone to get a recipe! Or, if I’m in the grocery store and think of something I want to make but can’t remember the ingredients I just pull out my phone! I’m excited that my good friend recently got CooknRecipeKeeper and we are now Cook’n friends so we can share recipes!

by Redcoat90

I used this program for several years and loved it! I started with the 6th or 7th versions. This program was great even when you had to copy and paste to get the recipes added to your collection. I upgraded to this version (from version 10) thinking that the cloud would be great! I synced to the cloud and ALL of my recipes disappeared! I could not access my recipes from my iPad OR my computer! I backed-up my info and just restored it! How does this work?!! This is the worst! What happened to this product?!!!

Update: I have recovered all my recipes except for one cookbook. (It was one I may not have used anyway!) The website help page got me back in track! CooknRecipeKeeper has improved so much and helped me become a MUCH BETTER cook! Let’s just say that the hubby is happy!!! ;-)

by Happy Cook In SoCal

I’ve been using Cook’n software for many years on my laptop, dating back to before the existence of an AP! Over the years the developer has continually improved the program with many new, helpful features. It’s evident he has consulted with cooks to determine needs and applies logic. The portability alone allows me to carry my recipes with me on my iPhone so that no matter where I am I have access to them all and no longer need to pre-plan a menu for trips. I share recipes easily via multiple methods and am able to print from my iPhone as well. The cut and paste feature is awesome and entering new recipes is a snap when fields populate automatically. Talk about convenience!!! There are so many great features I haven’t even used yet. Highly recommend subscribing. Customer service is responsive and works hard to resolve issues on a timely manner. You will NOT be disappointed.

by Yukismom

Love, love, love CooknRecipeKeeper and software. I’ve had this for many years and would not use anything else. The developers are always improving it and the support staff is very responsive. No overseas miscommunication, here. I love that it works over all my devices, so I can have my entire recipe collection with me at all times, whether I am at the super market, figuring out what to make for dinner or at a friends house, giving her my favorite recipe for banana bread. Very easy to capture and import recipes, scale existing recipes and organize all my cookbooks. My sister has it in Hawaii and we are alway’s sharing cookbooks back and forth. I like that I can view the shopping list “by recipe” though I use a separate grocery list app, because I have that listed by store. I do wish there was another way to organize chapters, besides tagging a recipe via “categories.” For instance, I have a “Chapter” for “Main Dishes” but I would love to organize that chapter into categories like meat, fish, chicken, etc. Still, I’ve looked at other apps over the years and this one is still the BEST! Thanks Dan and crew for continuing to improve CooknRecipeKeeper, at a time when we need it most.

by Weekend-golfer

This is my second time using Cook’n, let’s just say the first time wasn’t pretty. I am so glad to be able to recommend CooknRecipeKeeper. They have really made some great additions to the software. A couple of features that I use and love are the easy capture feature that lets me pull recipes off of the Internet and get them into my cookbooks. Also great is the scan options that let you take a picture of a recipe that has been printed or even hand written and get it into your cookbooks with minimal effort. I struggled for a while trying to figure out how to sort recipes so they would be easy to find (I think I might have too many!). Using the Category option lets me sort and find recipes based on a number of options. Very helpful. So if you are looking for a cooking app, this is the ONE for you.

by DM2324

I’ve been using the Cook’n software for over 20 years. In fact, when I started using it, the program came on a 5 1/4” floppy disk! I originally got it to help us keep track of favorite recipes to help with menu planning. But as the program evolved, so did the way we used it. We used to keep Food Network shows on our TV until we had time to go on the Internet and track down the recipes. Now, as we are watching the episodes, if we see a recipe we like, we jump on the Cook’n app and download it immediately! It is so much easier, and has resulted in us trying more of the recipes that we download. I also can’t say enough about their excellent customer support. Dan and the staff at Cook’n have been great to work with whenever I’ve had a question. Cook’n is a great app.