About Don Bell — Preserving Grandma's Dessert Recipes, Exactly as Written

If you've ever tried to recreate a dessert you remember from childhood — only to find a "modernized" version that doesn't taste the same — you're not alone.

This About me page is the short version of why I built Old Fashioned Dessert Recipes: to share the real thing — old-fashioned dessert recipes preserved exactly as they were written, along with the family stories that kept them alive.

What You'll Find Here (and What You Won't)

This isn't a typical recipe blog full of "shortcuts," trendy substitutes, or rewritten classics. It's a living dessert archive built from:

• Handwritten family recipe notebooks
• Scrapbooks of recipe clippings and vintage illustrations
• Vintage, public-domain cookbooks
• Treasured recipes written down by my grandmothers themselves

Whenever possible, I present recipes exactly as written — with their original wording, measurements, quirks, and old-time charm intact.

Who This Archive Is For

I built this site for two kinds of bakers (and plenty of people who are a bit of both):

• Nostalgic bakers who want to relive the desserts they grew up with—the pies, cakes, cookies, puddings, and holiday treats their mothers and grandmothers made.
• Heritage bakers and culinary explorers who enjoy the adventure of baking from history and want to try recipes as they were originally recorded.

If you need a quick, modern recipe with lots of step-by-step photos for something you're baking tonight, you may prefer other recipe sites — and that's fine. My goal here is different: preservation first.

Where These Recipes Came From (My "Basement Discovery")

People often ask, "Don, where did you find all these old fashioned dessert recipes?"

The honest answer is: I found them already waiting for me.

For years, a large part of our family's recipe collection sat on a dusty basement shelf — recipe scrapbooks, handwritten notebooks, magazine clippings, and old cookbooks that meant a great deal to my mother. She was a careful keeper of things worth saving, especially the kinds of recipes that actually got made again and again.

Over time, I inherited that collection — along with additional family recipes from my grandmothers — and realized I was holding more than desserts. I was holding a record of how ordinary home kitchens created extraordinary memories.

How I Preserve the "Exactly as Written" Experience (Without Leaving You Stuck)

Old recipes can be wonderfully direct — and sometimes wonderfully vague. So here's how I approach the archive:

I transcribe recipes faithfully rather than rewriting them into modern blog-style instructions.

When an old recipe uses vintage terms (like oven speeds, older measurements, or ingredient names), I point you to help that makes the recipe usable without changing the original text.

If you're new to historical baking, start here: Grandma's Simple Cooking Tips (measurement clues, oven temperature guides, older ingredients, and more).

Meet the Women Behind the Recipes

These are the women whose lives shaped the desserts — and the values — behind this archive. I'm preserving their biographies in full, and I'll be publishing them as dedicated pages.

Daisy Adelaide McIlmoyle (1911–1985) — my "Mom," scrapbook maker, and the reason this collection survived. As a young girl in the 1920s, Mom loved to collect recipe clippings and colorful food illustrations, and now I'm getting to share them with like-minded recipe lovers like yourself.

Read Mom's Story

Margaret Annie Adelaide Butler (1878–1951) — My "Grandma McIlmoyle," a pioneer homesteader who relied on practical, proven desserts that could feed a family well.

Read Grandma McIlmoyle's Story

Annie Stewart Gentles (1881–1955) — my Scottish "Grannie Bell," remembered in our family for her pies, scones, and marmalade.

Read Grannie Bell's Story

Want a Taste of the Collection (Plus a Free Dessert Ebook)?

If this kind of home baking feels like home to you, the best next step is to join Grandma's Dessert Club.

You'll be able to download a free recipe Ebook, and you'll receive occasional bulletins with old fashioned dessert recipes, updates, and member extras.

Join Grandma's Dessert Club (free ebook + bulletins)

A Quick "Thank You"

It means a lot that you're here. Every time someone bakes one of these recipes — whether it turns out perfect on the first try or becomes a fun kitchen experiment — it keeps a small piece of baking history alive.

Sincerely,

Don Bell — Founder & Archivist, Old Fashioned Dessert Recipes, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada

P.S. — If you haven't already, check out Grandma's Dessert Club and start with the free ebook. It's the easiest way to stay connected as I add more recipes and publish the family stories.

P.P.S. — If starting a website based on your favorite topic interests you at all then read my page on How to Begin. Believe me, if a senior citizen like Don Bell can do it, so can you!