Buttermilk Bakeshop, Brooklyn

Chef Katie Rosenhouse started working in the culinary industry at 14. She went on to compound her formal education with stints in tony restaurants, a gig as head pastry chef of David Burke restaurants, and multiple awards and honors that include winning the Food Network's Sweet Genius. Her recipes have directed readers of Food & Wine Magazine, and viewers of The Today Show and Chopped, toward edible masterpieces of their own creation.

But in the kitchens of Buttermilk Bakeshop, which boasts two Park Slope locations, Katie's not thinking about all that. She's focused only on the artistry at hand. Every single day, she and her trusty fellow bakers make every item from scratch, deftly whisking eggs, kneading dough, molding cookies, and meticulously decorating cakes for the long line that accumulates at the door. Their daily attention to detail has earned praise from the likes of CBS New York ("NYC's 5 Best Whoopie Pies") and the The Village Voice ("10 Great Handheld Foods in the City"). But the most important applause comes from Buttermilk's customers, who crave the virtuosic touch chefs lavish on warm chocolate chip cookies, raspberry linzer cookies, pastel macarons, fudge caramels, and even ice cream.