For the past 100 years, Betty Crocker’s cookbooks have been a kitchen staple, inspiring generations of home cooks and bakers with tips, tricks and delicious recipes.
To continue to meet the needs of home cooks today, Betty Crocker is releasing a new, refreshed cookbook, first published in 1950.
The 13th edition Betty Crocker Cookbook, launching on October 25, was created with busy families in mind. The book includes more than 375 new, on-trend recipes, including multicooker and slow cooker recipes, gluten free, vegetarian, and vegan recipes as well as creative ways to use up leftover ingredients, how-to photos of cooking techniques, cooking guides and more.
How did we decide on these new recipes and the theme of the book?
That was up to Cathy Swanson Wheaton, executive editor of the cookbook.
Cathy played an essential role in bringing the latest cookbook to life, from pitching the new cookbook idea to writing the new features, selecting the recipes and overseeing recipe development and photography.
“People often don’t realize that every edition has new recipes and reflects the times of when an edition comes out, as well as the kinds of recipes people are cooking and eating,” says Swanson Wheaton. “This is why we create a new edition every 5 to 7 years, because that’s the amount of time it takes before people’s eating habits change enough to warrant a new edition.”
New cookbook features and recipes were determined after analyzing consumer searches on BettyCrocker.com, conducting trends research, and cooking her way through the previous Betty Crocker Cookbook edition published in 2016.
“I noticed people were searching for different recipes – things like what to serve for meatless Mondays and how to incorporate more vegetables into their recipes,” says Swanson Wheaton. “As I looked through the previous cookbook, it was like putting together a puzzle – taking out the pieces that no longer fit and looking for the pieces that were missing, using what I know about food trends to fill the holes and add to it in a meaningful way.”
New features include:
Swanson Wheaton began concepting the book more than four years ago and through strong collaboration and teamwork with recipe developers, food panel participants and food stylists, they were able to bring it to life for this holiday season
The team spent years perfecting the recipes, running hundreds of kitchen tests, hosting taste test panels and ensuring each new recipe was accurate for gas and electric ovens as well as stovetops.
But it wasn’t smooth sailing. The COVID-19 pandemic created several challenges, from empty store shelves to our kitchens being temporarily shut down.
“We had just finished the first round of recipe development when COVID hit. Since the team couldn’t work in the kitchens, we had to exchange pieces of equipment back and forth between each other to test the recipes at home,” says Swanson Wheaton. “Then we had to navigate trying to find the ingredients we needed because store shelves were empty.”
Despite the many challenges, the team was able to overcome the hurdles and bring the cookbook to life.
With more than 75 million cookbooks sold since 1950, Betty Crocker continues to connect with makers and meet the needs of today’s home cooks.
“My favorite part is extending Betty's brand legacy. Betty has always been known for developing recipes that are really well written so that no matter who makes them, they can feel confident in the kitchen. It’s such an honor to be able to continue that through a book like this,” says Swanson Wheaton. “Making her relevant today while keeping her traditions from the past and making it accessible so that anyone can be a Betty is important to me.”
“Betty Crocker Cookbook 13th edition: Everything You Need to Know to Cook Today” is published by Harper Collins Publishers.
Pre order the cookbook by October 25 to receive an exclusive invite to a virtual cooking class and a tour of the Betty Crocker Kitchens, a chance to win a Betty Crocker Spoon and more.
Visit HarperCollins.com to learn more about the book and purchase your own copy.
