For Jeanne McKivigan of Butler Township, creating her own cookbook was more than just an organization of recipes, it was an organization of memories.

The owner of a business she calls My Grandma's Kitchen, McKivigan has been baking biscotti for friends, family and sale since around 1990.

At age 71, she has now put her biscotti recipe and other favorites into a cookbook, which she hopes will grow to be as popular as her crisp cookie snacks.

"Well I'm really getting tired of all this baking," she said, explaining over the years she has baked her biscotti, a twice baked Italian cookie, and other cookies for weddings, parties, gifts and even sold them in several area stores.

Though McKivigan has long hoped to retire from the small kitchen in her basement apartment below the home of her children and grandchildren, she knew she had to share her recipe so it wouldn't be lost over time.

Yet her cookbook includes more than just biscotti. McKivigan took time to sort through old family recipes, and those given to her by friends and acquaintances through the years.

After sifting through recipes written on napkins, church bulletins and newspaper clippings, she finally chose 24 recipes to include in her collection.

A new computer owner, McKivigan then went to work, typing in all her recipes and stories about where they came from, for a cookbook she planned as a gift for her family.

"When I'm gone I want them to know every detail," she said.

Beginning as an idea for a family gift, McKivigan then realized selling the cookbooks would be a good way to distribute her biscotti recipe, giving her a long awaited break in the kitchen.

The creation of the cookbook became not only a way to share her recipes with her family, but to share her time with them as well.

Working with her granddaughters, McKivigan typed the recipes and stories and her granddaughters edited and formatted them to the postcard-size pages that make up the cookbook.

McKivigan's daughters also joined in the crew, creating an assembly line to slide recipes, stories and photos into small photo albums.

To keep the assembly manageable, she created 50 cookbooks at first. She is now selling her second batch of 50 books, which sell for $8.95 each.

The cover of each cookbook features a picture of McKivigan's grandson as a baby, with the words "My Grandma bakes the best scotties."

"Ever think about all the family secrets a recipe box does hold? Like a drawer full of unmarked photos, memories and stories waiting to be told," begins a poem McKivigan wrote for the first page of the book.

To add an extra touch, McKivigan places each cookbook in a small muslin bag, with a rubber stamp of a large cupboard, similar to the green rustic cupboard that sits in her kitchen and displays her baked products.

Though much of the sales have been by word of mouth, McKivigan has worked with her granddaughter Katie Blum to develop new ways to market the books.

Blum, a senior at Butler High School and an aspiring marketing student, helped McKivigan present her cookbook at the Taste-O-Rama food show held recently at the Tanglewood Senior Center.

In matching plaid aprons, the duo set out prepared recipes for sampling and then reminded each taster the recipes were available in the cookbook.

"I enjoyed being able to learn a little about marketing," said Blum.

McKivigan believes one of the best tools for selling the books is giving them away, explaining that by giving one away, others see it and want to purchase it.

"I think people really appreciate it," said Blum. "It's really personalized for our family."

Though contented with their success, Blum and McKivigan have discussed other ways to sell their cookbook, including selling a digital version on the Internet.

McKivigan also believes she can help other families create their own family cookbooks, whether by giving instruction or creating a format that people can use to assemble their recipes.

"Anybody can do this," she said.

While McKivigan may soon rest from her job in the kitchen, My Grandma's Kitchen and its owner show no sign of stopping.

"I suppose when I die we'll call it 'Katie's Kitchen,'" joked McKivigan.

To contact McKivigan, write to her on e-mail at jeanmckivigan@yahoo.com.