[magneticnorth]

As someone who cooks a lot, I find the concept of "could I make this in my kitchen" to be a helpful guideline. I can tell a chipsahoy cookie is pretty different from anything I've ever made, whereas the ones at the local independently-owned bakery are more similar.

But making that judgement requires more cooking experience than a lot of people have, and executing on it requires the time & money to buy the more expensive stuff that has a shorter shelf life.