How do you capture that indescribably giddy moment when you're about to open a gift or a box of chocolates? This book is filled with more than 100 recipes to create those moments of joy and indulgence. This comprehensive book of baking recipes includes Valerie's famed Coffee Crunch Cake, Rose Petal Petits Fours, Black Pepper Truffles, Almond Shortbread, Durango Cookies, and more. She re-creates desserts from Los Angeles' lost restaurants such as Chasen's and the Brown Derby; she simplifies the process of candy making; she provides an accessible way to mix and match components so readers can design their own cakes and pies. Filled with helpful tricks (what to do with leftover butter cream, how to turn cookies into sandwich cookies, etc) and with recipes for a range of tastes, Sweet will find an audience in bakers everywhere.