Sugarlicious

MEAGHAN MOUNTFORD has been a professional cookie decorator for over a decade. Her cookies have appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Modern Bride and Chocolatier magazine. She is the author of Cookie Sensations and lives in Washington, DC, with her husband and daughter. Visit her at thedecoratedcookie.com and ediblecrafts.craftgossip.com.

For Greg and Maeve

Support of all kinds from my husband, Greg, made this book possible, as did Maeve’s discerning palate and stirring and scooping skills. But Greg’s and Maeve’s patience during my craziness deserves the biggest mention.

Huge praise goes to those not forced to live with me. Thank you to my family, both the Mountford and Marchand sides. To my mom and my dad, for their help, presence, advice, encouragement and child care. To my sister, Catherine, for exactly the same. To my brother, Bill, for connecting me with graphic arts genius Matt LaRusso, whose advice proved invaluable. To Dale and Shirley Marchand, for their Maeve watching and ever-present willingness to help.

To my great friends, without whom I’d never have completed this book. I wish I had the pages to name you all. To the Gymboree Mammas: Liz saves me daily and takes my kid at a moment’s notice, Slone is crucial to this book, as she found my photographer, and Karen delivers amazing food. To my neighbors, Kirsten and John, for listening to my book stories and occupying Maeve’s attention, and to my former neighbors, Alan and Lindy, who still drop everything to get me any information I need. To Beth, for always stepping in without question to help with Maeve, and to Fresia, for the comfort in her unconditional friendship. And, of course, Sarah Kerchner, of Bundles of Cookies, deserves a big gold star for introducing me to the decorated cookie.

To my agent, Andrea Somberg, for her kindness, endurance and skills, and especially her influence in the creation of this book.

To the amazing team at Harlequin for their enthusiasm and direction. I was fortunate my introduction to Harlequin was made through the wonderful Deb Brody. And thank you to Mark Tang for your early advice.

To my brilliant photographer, Abby Greenawalt, who helped define this book visually, a feat of great magnitude, and to the eyes and mind of stylist Lisa Sikorski, who proved critical in her role.

To the owners of Craft Gossip, Shellie Wilson and Vikram Goyal, and to all my coeditors, for their encouragement and backing. I know what I know largely because of Edible Crafts, so my gratitude for this gig can’t be overstated. And a thank-you to Heather Holbrook for your stamping resources advice.

To my fellow bloggers, with whom I share inspiration, jokes, gripes, camaraderie and sanity (or insanity). There are too many of you to list, but a special thank-you to Amanda Formaro, my coeditor at Craft Gossip and my friend, for her help with all things technical and so much more. And to Bridget of Bake at 350, Amanda of i am baker, Marian of Sweetopia, Cheryl of Sew Can Do, and Callye of The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle.

And finally, a gigantic thank-you to every one of my blog readers. Your support, comments, follows, questions, links and presence have influenced every page here.