Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California

Copyright protection for recipes is marginal. Someone who writes up a recipe in a truly creative way may be entitled to copyright protection, but it's the writing style and not the formula for the bread or the soup that's protected. There is quite a bit of discussion of this topic available on Google by using the search terms "recipes" and "copyright protection".

In general, recipes are not copyrightable, so the answer relates more to business than the law. If your mother wants to make money off selling the recipes, the key is to make them available to people who have paid.

I have seen some sites that post a description of the recipe plus the ingredients or a portion of the recipe, then require users to pay (either for the recipe or for a membership) if they want to see the rest.

On the other hand, if the site is supported by advertising, having the recipes available would be an attraction and she would make money off the advertising.