AUGUST 12 • 2021 | 11

B

aking with one’s bubbie 
is a fun and memorable 
activity, and something 
that Yocheved Perlman-Magier 
“wouldn’t change for the world. 
It’s priceless.
” 
Yocheved, of “Cookies and 
More by Shelly and Yocheved,
” 
loves blending her passion for 
baking with spending weekly 
quality time together with her 
bubbie and zaydie. Together, 
they bake everything from chal-
lah to cookies, cornbread, choc-
olate cinnamon babka, donut 
holes, all the way to custom 
cakes for every occasion.
However, baking wasn’t 
always the plan for Yocheved. 
When she was in 12th grade, 
she planned to open a restau-
rant. Other plans were to do 
nutrition or physical therapy. 
Plans changed in 2015 when 
her bubbie, Shelly Perlman, 
asked her if she would like to 
help her bake. 
After a while, Yocheved 
attended Schoolcraft College for 
a Baking and Pastry Arts cer-
tificate. Going to a non-kosher 

baking program was “absolute-
ly weird” for her, as she was 
unable to taste anything she was 
working on nor any finished 
products — something she left 
for her partner to do. 
Her final was to create a wed-
ding cake, to which she said, 
“I’m going the nerd route hard-
core”
, as she made a gorgeously 
detailed Harry Potter-themed 
wedding cake; to this day it’s 
one of her favorite creations. 
Unfortunately, for kashrut rea-
sons, she was unable to have a 
slice.
While in school, baking with 
her bubbie slowly grew. They 
began with cookies and stuff for 
the holidays. In the summer of 
2017, they began to do things 
for Shabbat. When Yocheved 
graduated from her program 
in 2018, they began to make 
custom cakes, which quickly 
became their bread and but-
ter. Thanks to Facebook and 
Instagram, as well as word of 
mouth, they got many orders. 
Their original goal was to 
make a bakery in the com-

munity; however, Yocheved is 
unsure if they would continue 
to do everything they currently 
offer, or simply focus on cakes. 
In the meantime, they cook out 
of each other’s homes, varying 
each week with a menu posted 

on their social media accounts. 
When asked what her favor-
ite thing to bake is, Yocheved 
replied, “I have to pick just 
one?” and said that their peanut 
butter and chocolate cookies 
“are so much fun to make 
because they look so beauti-
ful when they come out.
” She 
likes decorating custom cakes 
because she’s about to try new 
techniques, and she loves the 
feel of the dough when braiding 

challah.
Although turning a hobby 
into a business can be daunting, 
she said it’s fun for her because 
she gets to spread the delicious 
results of her bubbie’s recipes 
within the neighborhood, as 
well as create new delicacies and 
flavors together. Their menu has 
received both in-town and out-
of-town orders. “Cookies and 
More” originally was named by 
Yocheved’s bubbie back when 
she was selling cookies to her 
friends and also selling at a 
local farmer’s market. Once 
Yocheved joined in they added 
their names to the title.
When Yocheved was getting 
married earlier this summer, 
she wanted to create and bake 
her own wedding cake. When 
she learned that was not possi-
ble because of kashrut reasons 
with the caterer, she made one 
for her Sheva Brachot (week of 
celebration) instead. 
Newly married, she balances 
her work and her baking time 
and leaves her evenings to 
spend with her husband. When 
needed, her husband will join in 
the fun.
Cookies and More by Shelly 
and Yocheved has experience 
baking gluten-free and vegan 
products; and do their best to 
cater to the needs of their clients. 
Their menu rotates weekly, with 
some items like the challahs and 
certain cookies being a staple. 
They then pick the items they 
are in the mood to bake that 
week and add it to the menu.
Yocheved’s bubbie and zaydie 
find it all to be fun, and they 
benefit by spending time with 
their granddaughter while 
helping her passion grow into a 
business. 

You can view their weekly menu, usu-

ally posted on Mondays, and contact 

Yocheved to place orders at 

facebook.com/cookiesandmore2016 

or via Instagram at

@shellyandyochevedcookiesam.

OUR COMMUNITY

Yocheved
Perlman-Magier
loves to bake
with her bubbie.

Cookies
and More

DOVID NISSAN ROETTER
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

PEOPLE WE KNOW & STORIES WE DON’T

Yocheved 
Perlman-
Magier

Shelly and 
Yocheved

