By now we’ve all heard about Crumbl Cookies — massive, freshly baked cookies with a unique roster of flavors that change on a weekly basis. The obsession is real with everyone acting like Crumbl is the best (and only) fresh cookie chain out there. But it’s not. The truth is a tough cookie to swallow, I know, but the reality is Crumbl is grossly overrated (and super underbaked). Instead, a far better, underrated — you could even say slept on — competitor takes the (cookie) cake: Insomnia Cookies. Insomnia’s cookies are tastier, more well-rounded cookies that double as a great midday and late-night snack, as Insomnia’s doors are open as late as 3 a.m. Regardless of the time of day, Insomnia Cookies is better than Crumbl and the best chain cookie to shove into your mouth.
Size
Sorry, but it needs to be said — Crumbl’s cookies are just too big. Sure, they advertise it as having multiple servings within a cookie, but when I want to eat a cookie, I want to eat a whole cookie. Not a 1/4 of a cookie that I have to cut myself. Insomnia’s cookies are individual-sized, making for the perfect sweet treat to share with no one but yourself.
Taste
There’s really nothing more important to a cookie than its taste. Crumbl’s cookies are very doughy and often seem like they weren’t in the oven for long enough. Don’t get me wrong, cookie dough is tasty, but if I wanted to have cookie dough I would go for that and not a cookie that’s a half-baked mound of dough drenched in toppings. Crumbl’s cookies are very dense, and on top of that (literally), sits a ton of super sweet icing and other toppings like sprinkles or cookie crumbles. The cookies are overwhelming in both sheer size and sweetness. While some of the flavors are tasty, like the classic chocolate chip and the brownie batter, it’s just so much of everything that the actual experience of eating the cookie isn’t enjoyable.
Insomnia’s cookies are a much more balanced offering. The cookies are plenty sweet, but the sweetness isn’t piles and piles of sweetness. It’s the right level of sugar for a cookie and doesn’t make you feel bombarded. The chocolate cookie base is delectable, chocolatey but not overwhelmingly chocolate. And the classic vanilla base is nicely simple, allowing for its flavors and fillings like sprinkles, Reese’s bits, and chocolate chips to shine through. Unlike Crumbl, Insomnia’s cookies aren’t iced, leaving out that additional load of sweetness that weighs down Crumbl’s cookies. They’re exactly what you want from a cookie. Sure, they’re more mundane than Crumbl, but cookies don’t have to be fancy or revolutionary to be the best. Insomnia’s cookies have a homemade quality — bolstered by the fact that the cookies are delivered hot — that outperforms any bougie cookie out there, including Crumbl.
Flavor Variety & Consistency
While Crumbl has built its popularity off changing its menu weekly — which certainly has its advantages — it makes the chain unreliable when it comes to its flavors. A cookie you might love could be there for a week and then disappear forever. Or at the very least, you have to wait ages for it to resurface. Either way, a craving may simply not be able to be satisfied. As someone with a sweet tooth, that doesn’t work for me at all.
Insomnia doesn’t have that problem. So while they may not have the flair of a changing menu, the cookie chain is always there for you with its consistent flavor lineup. Which is by no means small or boring. They’ve got sweet classics like chocolate chip, M&M, and sugar, but also spice it up with s’mores, mint chocolate, and salted caramel.
And if you’re still clinging to the limited edition concept, Insomnia’s got you covered there too, rolling out a few flavors for a limited time. Currently, my Insomnia Cookies at Virginia Tech is offering up a lemon-filled cookie for the Olympics, plus matcha and peanut butter and jelly flavors.
Underrated Non-Cookie Offerings
Insomnia is baking up a lot more than just cookies too, despite cookies being its namesake. And yes, Crumbl has recently taken to including a non-cookie treat like mini cakes in its weekly line-up, but that doesn’t make much of a dent in the conversation considering Insomnia consistently has options. They’ve got multiple flavors of brownies (the chocolate chip brownie is a personal recommendation), ice cream in pint and ice cream sandwich form, called Cookie’wiches, and even cookie cakes that you can customize for events (which I can attest make for a great birthday present). Insomnia knows sometimes a cookie just doesn’t satisfy that sweet treat craving, so they’ve covered all the bases.
Availability
Insomnia’s whole deal revolves around its late-night availability. If you want fresh hot cookies at 2 a.m., head to Insomnia. Or get them delivered — another of Insomnia’s benefits and you’ll get the cookies nice and hot too. As someone who has received Insomnia Cookie deliveries plenty of times, those cookies really are fresh out of the oven, perfectly warm cookies to make a bad afternoon a good one or help you see through a late-night cramming session. If you can’t have a parent’s freshly baked cookies, these come pretty close.
With their late-night availability, Insomnia seems built for college kids and it kind of was. Insomnia came about because a college student named Seth Berkowitz was tired of the lack of options for late-night noshing and a deep craving for a sweet midnight snack. So, he opened up a cookie shop geared towards night owls (which college students often become when cramming for exams). Now, Insomnia Cookies are often located near colleges and really do make for a great late-night bite. Plus, they can be sent as gifts, so family and friends from home can send you a sweet treat. Sounds like a slam dunk (in milk) to me.
Whether you’re an insomniac, a college kid (though the two definitely aren’t mutually exclusive), or just someone in the mood for a cookie, Insomnia Cookies has you covered and has Crumbl beat with better tasting and better-sized cookies that satisfy the sweetest tooth without being overwhelming. So, start sleeping on Crumbl and stay awake (and up late) for Insomnia Cookies.