Items get deleted when the player's inventory is refilled while using the recipe book.

1. First, arrange your inventory like this, and drop an extra stack of diamonds on the ground so you'll pick them up if you empty a slot in your inventory.
   
2. Then, shift click the diamond blocks in the recipe book.
   
3. Finally, shift click it again.
   

The items picked up are now destroyed.

I tested/discovered this in a survival world while crafting melons, and it seems like it's only destroying the items you pick up while crafting.