Lexington educator known as ‘the cookie man’ opens his own store

A Lexington educator known to his students as “the cookie man” now has a brick-and-mortar store where he plans to teach others about baking.

Leon Buford-Kelly, an associate principal at Leestown Middle School, opened BK’s Cookies & More Oct. 5 at 365 Longview Plaza, just behind Critchfield Family Market on Southland Drive.

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Buford-Kelly started baking cookies as a treat for students and for school fund-raisers, but things really got cooking in the summer of 2020, during the COVID pandemic. He couldn’t cater anymore, so he began selling cookies online.

Eventually, that grew to sales in Total Wine and More shops across Kentucky, as well as other local retail outlets. — and now to his own bakery and shop, after years of working out of shared kitchen space in Southland Bagel.

He’s also expanded the traditional cookie template.

“We’re more than just cookies,” he said. He also makes and sells cookie butter, cookie brittle, brownies, ice cream, brownie balls and cookie cakes. Buford-Kelly also colors outside the lines of traditional flavors.

“My brownie balls have been huge, and the banana pudding ice cream,” he said. “I try to create unique flavors to get people to notice.”

He said he plans to introduce new flavors each week to keep people coming back to see what he might have. “This week I’m doing cinnamon rolls and cinnamon roll cookies,” he said. Another week, it’s Red Velvet cookies, brownies and brownie balls.

When he gets one that people really take to, he adds it to the rotating lineup of offerings, listed on bkscookies.com . Recent hits include the oatmeal creme pie cookies.

The shop also will offer cookie classes every Wednesday where you learn how to make his special cookies. “I teach them how to make the first batch, then they make the second batch, and take everything with them,” Buford-Kelly said.

Once an educator, always an educator. And, despite opening his shop, he has no plans to leave the school.

“I will stay in education; it’s my first love,” Buford-Kelly said.

BK’s Cookies & More

Where: 356 Longview Plaza 160B

Hours: Friday through Monday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Closed Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Online: bkscookies.com

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