In terms of good OOP design, what is the best way to structure code that is just containers of list of objects that contains other lists of objects that also are just other containers?

Example: A Cookbook owns a list of Chapters that owns a list of Recipes that owns a list of Directions. Each object is a different layer within a whole. For clarity, I use the word "list" to refer to any data structure used to store multiple objects.

I've come across this Russian doll problem of nested objects inside of nested objects many times. I've tried passing the bottom level objects through the nest hierarchy and also tried writing methods that pass information down to the bottom nested object. My structure always feels messy because the intermediate classes are filled with methods that do nothing more than passing either objects or information.

In terms of good OOP design, what is the best way to structure code that is just containers of list of objects that contains other lists of objects that also are just other containers?

Example: A Cookbook owns a list of Chapters that owns a list of Recipes that owns a list of Directions. Each object is a different layer within a whole. For clarity, I use the word "list" to refer to any data structure used to store multiple objects.

I've come across this Russian doll problem of nested objects inside of nested objects many times. I've tried passing the bottom level objects through the nest hierarchy and also tried writing methods that pass information down to the bottom nested object. My structure always feels messy because the intermediate classes are filled with methods that do nothing more than passing either objects or information.

An addition due to confusion expressed in the comments: I'm looking for direction in things to study for handling a general type of problem. I'm not asking for a solution to a specific coding problem that I have in front of me. I wasn't expecting a "one answer to rule them all", but more of "use A design pattern for X situations but use B design pattern for Y situations and beware of Z." The example is for providing a general context, not a specific one.

In terms of good OOP design, what is the best way to structure code that is just containers of list of objects that contains other lists of objects that also are just other containers?

Example: an Restaurant class has a list of Menu objects, the Menu object is just a list of Dish objects, and the Dish object is just a list of Ingredient objects. For clarity, I use the word "list" to refer to any data structure used to store multiple objects.

I've come across this Russian doll problem of nested objects inside of nested objects many times. I've tried passing the bottom level objects through the nest hierarchy and also tried writing methods that pass information down to the bottom nested object. My structure always feels messy because the intermediate classes are filled with methods that do nothing more than passing either objects or information.

In terms of good OOP design, what is the best way to structure code that is just containers of list of objects that contains other lists of objects that also are just other containers?

Example: A Cookbook owns a list of Chapters that owns a list of Recipes that owns a list of Directions. Each object is a different layer within a whole. For clarity, I use the word "list" to refer to any data structure used to store multiple objects.

I've come across this Russian doll problem of nested objects inside of nested objects many times. I've tried passing the bottom level objects through the nest hierarchy and also tried writing methods that pass information down to the bottom nested object. My structure always feels messy because the intermediate classes are filled with methods that do nothing more than passing either objects or information.

In terms of good OOP design, what is the best way to structure code that is just containers of list of objects that contains other lists of objects that also are just other containers?

Example: an Restaurant class has a list of Menu objects, the Menu object is just a list of Dish objects, and the Dish object is just a list of Ingredient objects. For clarity, I use the word "list" to refer to any data structure used to store multiple objects.

I've come across this Russian doll problem of nested objects inside of nested objects many times. I've tried passing the bottom level objects through the nest hierarchy and also tried writing methods that pass information down to the bottom nested object. My structure always feels messy because the intermediate classes are filled methods that are doing nothing more than passing either objects or information.

In terms of good OOP design, what is the best way to structure code that is just containers of list of objects that contains other lists of objects that also are just other containers?

Example: an Restaurant class has a list of Menu objects, the Menu object is just a list of Dish objects, and the Dish object is just a list of Ingredient objects. For clarity, I use the word "list" to refer to any data structure used to store multiple objects.

I've come across this Russian doll problem of nested objects inside of nested objects many times. I've tried passing the bottom level objects through the nest hierarchy and also tried writing methods that pass information down to the bottom nested object. My structure always feels messy because the intermediate classes are filled with methods that do nothing more than passing either objects or information.