A recipe is directions for making a dish or dessert, like your mother's award-winning recipe for chocolate chip cookies.
The word recipe is most often used when talking about cooking. It includes two things: a list of ingredients that you'll need and the steps to take in order to make it. You can find recipes in cookbooks, on Web sites, in newspapers and magazines — or handed down in your family. Other than cooking, a recipe can also be a formula: the recipe for success is hard work, good timing and a little luck.
