Cookie College at Naborhood Bakery caters to kid cooks

WEST JORDAN — Is it possible to go to college at the age of 5 and keep the costs down?

Sure, if you attend Cookie College at Naborhood Bakery in Gardner Village.

For $15 in tuition, a young person can receive a tour of the bakery, including the back room where everything is mixed and baked in bigger than usual kitchen appliances, make their own sugar cookies and decorate them to the ooh's and aah's of their parents. Plus, they get a yummy lunch.

Can't beat that deal.

"This is the first time we've been here," said Lisa Ford, mother of Chloe, 10, who says she loves to eat cookies.

"It's a fun thing to do off track (from school)," Ford said. "Besides, sugar cookies are my favorite, and Chloe and Payton (cousins) love to cook."

Cookie College, an annual cookie-making, baking and learning school at Naborhood Bakery, is in its third year and owners Mark and Judy Hendriksen expect the yearly class to grow by leaps and bounds. The bakery takes in roughly 14 students per class, but Mark Hendriksen said he and his wife are flexible in the ages of children as well as the number of children participating in the class.

"We don't make money on Cookie College, but just want the kids to have fun," Mark Hendriksen said. During the cold months following Christmas, there's not much to do but stand around and look at each other, he said, and he's is grateful to have the kids in the bakery, mess and all.

One preschool of 2- to 5-year-olds was having a pretty good time, even if the entire group wasn't using the flour to their best advantage. Addy, 3, a member of Fab Four Pre-School, a group of four mothers involved in a mom co-op, seemed to be having more fun rubbing flour on her chair and shirt than onto her cookie dough.

Still, there was a buzz of activity throughout the room, from rolling out the dough, to making cookies in favorite shapes, including bare feet cookies that would later get a good dose of pink, blue or yellow frosting and glittery candy sprinkles.

Evidently, the only thing better than making cookies are the "cute kids," whom Judy Hendriksen says she "loves." She enjoys giving the bakery tours and explaining about the equipment that is usually not seen by those entering the bakery. She helps the children with their cookies and gathers up their lunch orders.

"It's nice to bring people into the village, and it's fun for the kids," Mark Hendriksen said.

He hopes to keep the class going for a long time. "People know about it and ask about it all year."

The Naborhood Bakery, established in Sugar House in 1920, has been one of the shops at Gardner Village for almost 10 years. It's a cozy place where customers can purchase sweet treats, sandwiches and soup.

Cookie College lasts for two hours and meets at the Naborhood Bakery Wednesdays at 10 a.m. and Fridays at 4 p.m. through March 5. Parents can preregister at 801-566-8808.

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