Growing up, Susan O’Keefe never had a Twinkie – or a Ring Ding or any other uber-processed snack cake.

“To this day, I still haven’t,” says the owner of the from-scratch bakery Baked by Susan, which she opened in 2010. “I come from a generational baking family, and we always had a homemade dessert.”

Baking since she was 8, O’Keefe recalls her mother’s lemon-nut bread and brownies and her Grandma Susie’s yeast donuts. “I bake the way your grandparents and great grandparents would have,” she says, “no processed ingredients or cheap shortenings. My pies sell for $24.99, and at ShopRite you can get a pie for $1.99. But what do you think goes into a $1.99 pie?”

Her distributor, after dropping off a delivery, will often remark, “Now I’m off to the ‘Fakeries,'” referring to those clients who purchase canned and pre-made fillings and big buckets of pre-made icing.

O’Keefe’s forte are her crusts – whether cradlng sugared, heat-scortched local fruits or creamy custards they are glorious masterworks.

Besides the shop, her products are sold at nine Whole Foods, six Gourmet Garages and Mrs. Green’s, both Black Cow locations, Hilltop Hanover Farm and a few DeCicco’s.

Dont miss: Double-Crust Apple Pie, Apple Turnovers, Cinnamon Rolls.

 

Thank you again Westchester Magazine for featuring our bakery in this full page article. We are beyond honored!