Throughout his career, game developer Tim Cain kept a tradition of including recipes in games he worked on, including the following:

• Stonekeep - Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins (found at the end of the game's credits and in a separate text file on the disc).
• Fallout - Mushroom Clouds (found in the game's manual; a recipe for a Desert Salad can also be found, but according to Cain this one was contributed by lead designer Christopher Taylor).
• Arcanum: of Steamworks and Magick Obscura - Grandma Cookhill's Three Bowl Bread (found in the game's manual)
• The Temple of Elemental Evil - Chocolate Chip Cookies of the Gods (found in the game's manual)
• Pillars of Eternity - Tim's Cookbook, a cookbook with 15 recipes first released as a backer reward during the game's Kickstarter campaign and later bundled digitally with the Definitive Edition.

Cain first learned to cook and bake while in college, being influenced by his dormmate who was studying to become a sous chef. He frequently tried and modified recipes from his mother, his friends, and cookbooks, and brought in his excess batches to work at Interplay Entertainment. The Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins became popular among his coworkers, and near the end of Stonekeep's development, Taylor received permission from Cain to include the recipe in the game, beginning the tradition.