by J. Brooks Terry
Staff Writer
Thanks in large part to Sandra Henderson’s sweet tooth, the Council aide’s family, friends and co-workers on City Hall’s fourth floor rarely go for very long without having a homemade dessert in front of them.
An avid baker in her spare time, Henderson’s made-from-scratch cookies, cakes and brownies fall nothing short of legendary for those who have tried them.
“It’s incredible, the things she’s able to do in the kitchen,” said Council chief of public information Cindy Warner, also one of Henderson’s biggest fans. “Whenever any of us up here has a birthday, we know we’re in for a treat.”
For Warner’s birthday, Henderson created an original-recipe cheese biscuit.
“I asked her if she could do it and she went beyond my expectations,” Warner said.
Never one to let praise go to her head, Henderson described her work in the kitchen as less of a chore, and more like a labor of love.
“I actually learned to cook from my mother when I was very young and I’ve enjoyed it ever since,” said the aide to Council member Jerry Holland. “And I really do love to bake just about everything, but I have to admit that I have a special place in my heart for the sweet stuff. That’s what I like to do.”
Henderson’s passion for confections has led to the creation of some of her most original and highly demanded staples including a double-decker lemon cake, chocolate cake covered with hand-whipped icing, carrot cake and brownies with a recipe so secretive that she refuses to comment on what makes them so tasty.
“It’s a family recipe,” Henderson says before pausing. “Well, I’ll tell you this: I put chocolate candy bars in the batter, but that’s all you’re going to get out of me.”
So with so many recipes in rotation, how does Henderson keep them all straight?
“I’ve got recipes all over the place,” she says, laughing. “Some I keep stored in my head. Some come from magazines I’ve come across. And the rest come from different cookbooks I’ve held onto for years.”
But even with all of the tried and true favorites, Henderson said she purchases at least one new book a year.
“I try to because I like to come up with new things all the time,” she said, “or at least adapt an old recipe. It’s fun because I like to make things people enjoy. If I can do that, it makes all the time and effort worth it.”