Faces of Long Island celebrates the uniqueness of everyday Long Islanders. In their own words, they tell us about their life experiences, challenges and triumphs. Newsday launched this social media journey into the human experience to shine a light on the diverse people of this wonderful place we call home.

‘It’s so funny, something I started, just to make a couple extra bucks for groceries, now takes care of our household.’

Stephanie Knorzer, Centereach

“From when I was little, I wanted to be a chef. I watched Julia Child instead of watching cartoons.

“I went to culinary school. When I brought stuff home, my mom would be like, ‘Oh, my God, your baking is so good.’

“After we got married, my husband decided to go back to school. We moved to Long Island, and I knew we needed to make extra money.

It’s so important to shop small and support your local community because it just helps the community to thrive and helps build the area.

“Everybody would always say my chocolate chip and oatmeal cookies were so good. I started making those and selling them on Facebook. But creatively, it wasn’t enough for me. I started making more items and it really took off.

“I was doing my business out of my home for years. I was turning so many customers away, and I was thinking, ‘What if I just went full force with this?’

“After we got the store in Centereach, the business [The Cookie Shop LI] started picking up even more. My husband left his full-time accounting job to come work with me. My daughter works here, too.

“I have a great group of girls that I work with. We are all harmonious. I don’t need to see a whole background of what you’ve done. I just need to see that passion and care.

“It’s so important to shop small and support your local community because it just helps the community to thrive and helps build the area. We love it here, and we love working close to home.

“I imagine in my head what something should taste like, and then that’s where I go. Instead of working backwards and trying other people’s stuff, I use my own ideas.

“All our creations are very balanced. It’s flavor forward instead of just heavy on the sugars. We make everything from scratch. It’s like not hard or difficult. Of course, technique-wise it is, but it’s good for you. And it feels good to provide that for people.

“It’s so funny, something I started, just to make a couple extra bucks for groceries, now takes care of our household.”

Interviewed by Maggie Rose Melito

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Faces of Long Island is produced by Newsday Consumer Marketing. This content does not involve the reporting and editing staff of Newsday’s Editorial Department.