Family Feud: Should I Share Grandmas Apple Pie Recipe with My Cousins Baking Business?

A 29-year-old woman is sitting on a family legend: her grandma’s apple pie recipe, the kind people swear they can smell from the next room. She’s been baking it for years, bringing it to family gatherings like it’s part of the seating arrangement, and everyone acts like it’s the main event.

Then her cousin, 27, launches a baking business and casually asks for the recipe to put on her menu. The catch, they’re not exactly starting from a place of trust. This cousin has a history of copying ideas and claiming credit, which makes OP feel like sharing could turn into a public “thank you for the inspiration” situation, with her grandma’s hard-earned tradition getting credit-steered elsewhere.

Now it’s a whole family feud, over a pie that somehow became a loyalty test.

Original Post

So I'm (29F) currently in a pickle regarding a family recipe. My grandmother had this incredible apple pie recipe that's been passed down for generations.

It's a secret family recipe and has always been cherished by us. I've been baking this pie for family gatherings, and everyone absolutely loves it.

Recently, my cousin (27F) started a baking business and asked me to share the apple pie recipe with her so she could include it in her menu. For background, my cousin and I have always had a competitive relationship.

She's known to copy ideas and claim credit for them, and I've had issues with her in the past regarding this. Given this history, I'm hesitant to share our family recipe with her, knowing she might not give credit where it's due.

But my family is pressuring me to share the recipe, saying I'm being selfish and that it's just a pie. I feel conflicted.

On one hand, I want to keep the tradition alive and protect our family's heritage. On the other hand, I don't want to create more tension in the family or come off as petty.

So AITA?

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This debate about keeping grandma’s apple pie secret from the cousins bakery is similar to the woman weighing tensions over her cousin’s business.

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The second OP’s cousin asked to add the pie to her menu, the request stopped sounding like “family sharing” and started sounding like “free content.”

With grandma’s recipe already treated like sacred tradition, the pressure from the rest of the family feels like they’re demanding OP hand over a piece of their history.

Past incidents of copying and claiming credit are sitting in OP’s head, making that “it’s just a pie” argument land way flatter.

By the time the family calls her selfish, OP has to decide if she’d rather keep the recipe private or risk another credit mess with her cousin baking under her name.

What do you think about this situation? Let us know in the comments.

Sharing the recipe might bake the pie, but it could also bake in the resentment.

Wondering if you should block your cousin’s rival bakery plans like this woman did? Read the family feud over sharing grandma’s recipe.