Hamptons 'Cookie Queen' Behind Tate's Bake Shop Debuts Children's Book

SOUTHAMPTON, NY — A beloved Long Island "cookie queen," the founder of Tate's Bake Shop, has penned her first children's picture book, chronicling her journey, which was paved with flour and a dream.

Southampton's Kathleen King's book "Cookie Queen: How One Girl Started Tate's Bake Shop," is published by Random House Books for Young Readers and is on sale July 18 for $18.99. The book was written by King and Lowey Bundy Sichol and illustrated by Ramona Kaulitzki.

"Eleven-year-old Kathleen King was positively obsessed with baking the perfect chocolate chip cookie. She experimented over and over and over with different recipes — less flour, more butter, longer baking time — until she got it just right," a release for the book said. "Customers flocked to her family’s farm stand on Long Island for Kathleen’s enormous, buttery chocolate chip cookies. And when she grew up, Kathleen started a cookie company called Tate's Bake Shop. Tate's grew into a multimillion-dollar empire. Today, King’s iconic cookies are sold all over the country."

The book, which is about a young girl's dream realized as a cookie empire, includes an original cookie recipe.

King's multimillion-dollar cookie company was named after her beloved father, the release said. "Tate’s bestselling cookie is, of course, its chocolate chip cookie. Many famous people have called Tate’s the best chocolate chip cookie in the world. Kathleen is also the author of Baking for Friends and The Tate's Bake Shop Cookbook," the release said.

This is her first book for children.

The beloved local Hamptons bake shop known for its mouthwatering cookies was sold for $500 million in 2018.

Mondelēz International announced at the time that it would acquire Tate’s Bake Shop.

According to a release, Mondelēz International had an agreement with The Riverside Company, a global private equity firm, and other shareholders, including founder King, to acquire Tate’s Bake Shop.

In 1980, King turned her passion for baking into a career, and opened her first bakery called Kathleen's Bake Shop; she later launched Tate's, which grew astronomically and become wildly successful. Even chef and talk show host Rachel Ray named her chocolate chip cookie the "Best Cookie in America."

"It was always my goal to make the best cookie in America," said King of the honor bestowed upon her by Ray.

King has long been part of the fabric of East End's business community — devoted to the hometown where her family has deep roots in farming.

"I feel very, very loyal to the community and I give back as much as I can," King told Patch in a previous interview.