‘Gr8 Comeback’: Baker behind Yummy makes her cookies for a cause

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Jackie Wheat, the chief baker and owner of Yummy, has had a passion for baking since childhood.

It’s a family tradition inspired by her mother.

“My mom was an excellent cook,” she said. “Family would come and gather around a meal that she would prepare. Food would bring family and friends together and that’s what I hang on to, the nostalgia of it.”

The closest thing she had to those meals after her mother died was Roselyn Bakery.

“They made a Mexican Wedding Cake cookie,” she said. “Well they closed in August of 1999, and I was distraught.”

Instead of missing out, she decided to make her own, and once she tweaked the recipes to the point where family, friends and co-workers approved, the business was born. Now her desserts are known in different markets around Indianapolis.

“I bake other things, but the Mexican Wedding Cake cookie is my flagship item, and it is truly the best Mexican wedding cake cookie in the city, wherever that city might be,” she said. “Warning: They are addicting.”

While thanking the ones who’d been there for her since the business started, Wheat couldn’t help but remember November 2020, when her family was rocked by tragedy. One of her sons, Chad, was the victim of a fatal shooting. With tears streaming down her face, she says she’s motivated by his memory.

“Although Yummy has been in existence for some years now, I’m taking it further because I want Yummy to be a cookie with a cause,” she said.

Wheat is also inspired to fight for people like Chad, who struggle with mental illness. Meanwhile, with every dessert she makes, she’s sending a message to her son.

“This is to you, Chad.”

You can order from Yummy! online. Wheat does catering and delivery.