This is a fun cookbook of sweet baked things. The illustrations are cute. The recipes are balanced between simple and very involved. What is not balanced, however is the overwhelming amount of chocolate recipes. While I love chocolate, I cannot eat it anymore so this was really problematic for me. Still, there's a handful of recipes I'd like to try before I return this one to the library. Not a keeper though. ( )

Maida Heatter was a well known cookbook author specializing in baking. This is a collection of recipes from her previously published books. The "Before You Bake" chapter includes tips and explanations for successful baking. Some recipes feature her personal notes. She died June 2019 at the age of 102.

I liked the Dorie Greenspan foreword and the "Before You Bake" section on ingredients, equipment, and techniques (even the ones I won't use).
There seems to be a lot of chocolate.
Also, while I like the look of the illustrations, I prefer photographs.
I'm sure all these recipes do come out perfectly, but my preferred level of baking aims for "yum" and not "perfect" - I'm just not going to sift flour. It's good to know how/why though.