Many folks claim — and sometimes it’s hard to argue — that cakes or brownies made from a mix are just as good as those made from scratch. But no one can reasonably maintain that a chocolate chip cookie made with refrigerated dough or a mix beats the from-scratch version. As for packaged, store-bought chocolate chip cookies? Entenmann’s fans will (quite rightly) put up a good fight. But in the end: no contest.

Even as an 11-year-old, Kathleen King understood the almost druglike appeal of homemade chocolate chip cookies. She began selling homemade cookies at her family’s farm stand in Southampton, N.Y., and soon was selling more cookies than her father was selling eggs. A baking star was born.

King is now the successful owner of Tate’s Bake Shop in her hometown, a bakery that has drawn praise from food megastars such as Ina Garten and Rachael Ray. She is the proud author of three stylish, self-published baking books, the most recent called “Tate’s Bake Shop: Baking for Friends” (2012).