After struggling to deal with the abyssmal recipe selection window, I whipped up this workaround which has made my life better.

Essentially, it's just another hotbar that pops up whenever the recipe selection window is visible, just to the left of it and allows you to place 12 common recipe choosing macros in it. (Or if you should for some reason want to, anything that you can place in any other hotbar.)

To make macros that choose a recipe (skip this if you already know):
Right-click on one of the 20 slots to open the macro editor.

Title your recipe (short titles work best).

In the macro commands area, use Do include the quotes, and type the recipe name exactly as it appears in your recipe book, including capitalization, punctuation and spaces. If you want the words you typed in the title above to show in the button instead of the icon, check the "Text-only macro" check box and click create button.

To duplicate a macro:
If you use this mod, this is a skill you're going to want to learn. To duplicate a macro, right click on the macro to open the edit window. With the edit window open, drag the macro button from it's current slot on the hotbar to any unused slot. Then click the "Create" button in the edit window.

Version 2.0.0
Major rewrite. I like the first one so much I added a ton to it. Quick Recipe Hotbar is now 20 Buttons high. And there are 5 banks, so that's a total of 100 recipes readily accessible to you.

Reshaped the buttons also. I really REALLY recommend you use text only macros now as your icons will be seriously distorted if you use icons. (Recipe buttons are 4x wider than normal hotbar buttons and 2/3 the height.)

Version 1.0.0

After making a house worth of bricks, I found that singlehandedly justified this mod. I hope you enjoy it.

Installation

1. Locate and open your Vanguard directory. (This is by default C:\Program Files\Sony\Vanguard)
2. In that directory, find and open the folder named "VGUIAssets"
3. In that directory, find and open the folder named "Shells"
4. In that directory, find and open the folder named "Mothers"
5. In that directory, find and open the folder named "Textures"
6. Copy from the zip file the two files with names beginning with "mothers_widgets" and place them in the skins folder you just opened.
7. Go back up one level to the "Mothers" folder.
8. In that directory, find and open the folder named "Windows"
9. If that file does not exist, copy the files "VGUIHotkeys_HotbarCraftRecipes.xml" from the zip file into the folder you are now in.
10. Go back up to the "Mothers" folder. 11. Open the "Index.xml" file with notepad. (You'll probably have to right-click and choose "Open With" to do so.)
12. Find the line that reads: Code:
<GameplayWindows directory="Windows">
13. Immediately after that line, add the following line:
Code:
<Window filename="VGUIHotkeys_HotbarCraftRecipes.xml"/>
14. Load and play Vanguard.