NO BOOK OF THIS SIZE AND SCOPE is accomplished by the author alone (I can’t believe I am an author!). Many people helped me on this journey, and we will be linked together forever over the stove because of it. Everyone challenged me and pushed me beyond the borders of the cupcake pan to move from dilet tante to first-time author. Chief among those were the SweetByHolly team who were with me the entire way and contributed consistency and commitment to keeping my SweetByHolly shops up and running while I tested and wrote the book in the middle of the night and filmed Cupcake Wars in between recipes. If it were not for Ashton, Kayla, Krista, Malory, and all of the Sweeties, this book never would have happened.

Thank goodness for my editor, Natalie Kaire, who happened to be channel surfing one night and saw my win on the Food Network’s Cupcake Wars, I will be forever grateful for her phone call and how it changed the course of my sweet and savory journey forever. Thanks, too, to the team at Stewart, Tabori & Chang, especially Dervla Kelly, who stepped in as my editor and showed great enthusiasm for my book. A thank-you to the most delightfully indefatigable literary agent, Alison Fargis of Stonesong, for pushing me to be the very best that I can be.

I was fortunate to have amazing writing help from the talented Michelle Witte and solid recipe testing knowledge from Vanessa Seder. Both held my hand for over a year and offered many hours of devoted work.

Many thanks to Tina Rupp, the book’s photographer, Marianna Velazquez, the food stylist, and Leslie Siegel, the prop stylist, for creating such gorgeous photos. Their creations perfectly capture and bring to life the spirit of the book.

Less readily apparent but extremely important work was done by: Max Mutchnick and Erik Hyman for direction, Sheraton Kalouria for his vision, Mark Danielewski, Blair and Gail, for showing me how it’s done, the family farm, church suppers, and potluxe™ dinners everywhere. Peter Maiers, Gussie, Andrew Bush, Joel and Christina Wilder, Susan, David, Tom, Karen and Katherine Wilder, Andrea Murdoch-Cohen, SweetByHolly supporters, Jeannie Lee, Emily Elun, Maria Martinez, Dani Caird, Priscilla and Walter Cane, Maureen Flannigan, and every guest who has dined on my food since I was five years old.

Special thanks to my husband, for always having my back and for going to the grocery at midnight, and to my children, Georgia and Whitman, for having really good palates and being so good-spirited and energetic.