If you're looking for anything from Grandma's sugar cookies to gourmet concoctions, the Internet can be a treasure trove of recipes for the experienced cook.

However, those without much kitchen experience should be sure to stick to the more mainstream of the cooking sites.

Sites such as FoodTV and Cooking.com have fairly good recipe databases, but they can be a bit rarified in terms of taste for some folks. The one great benefit to their recipes is that, by and large, they are professionally written and thus do not omit any steps. They are relatively safe for the inexperienced cook, and can even be remarkably instructive with content such as video cooking demonstrations and descriptions of cooking techniques.

If you really want to tap the rich vein of recipe knowledge, however, you'll have to leave the safety of the "big" sites and head out into the Web. A quick Web search can yield big dividends. By specifying your search, you can quickly narrow your field to, say, cookie, cake, or pie recipes. These sites are generally reliable as far as directions and such, but it's a good idea to have an experienced cook give a quick look to any complicated or completely unfamiliar recipe that you want to try.

Beyond these sites are destinations such as Web community sites hosted by most major providers. While you will find some of the truest "family" recipes here, always keep in mind that the people posting these recipes are, by and large, NOT professional cooks or recipe writers.

Frequently, a minor step which can dramatically affect the outcome of the prepared dish can be omitted. Often, this is because the person posting the recipe considers the step to be "common sense" and does not realize that an inexperienced cook might not understand.

Finally, if you're REALLY feeling brave, head to www.google.com and cast your net wide. You'll come up with everything from corporate site recipes to odd mentions on news sites. I found one of my favorite cookie recipes this way ... on a Star Wars-related site. Good luck!