Iris T.
Yelp
I am a Crumbl fan but with all the debate, I decided I had to try Insomnia Cookies to know for sure, as that was the other main contender. To my delight, there's one located next to the hair salon I take my kids to, so I stopped by.
Right away, I already see there's a color theme (purple) and there's ice cream by the scoop - hello ice cream cookie sandwiches! The price is also reasonable: just over $2 for one cookie, but there's better value if you get the sets. Another thing that sets Insomnia apart -- THEY HAVE ALLERGY-FRIENDLY COOKIES.
I went in with my sister, who is vegan and wasn't expecting anything (neither was I) and my son, who is allergic to 4 common food ingredients and 2 not-so-common ones (wheat, eggs, peanuts, most tree nuts, avocado, and kiwi). Guess what? They have vegan cookies (THREE flavors) and one vegan, gluten-free cookie! I did ask about cross-contamination and the lady behind the counter said they use a different scoop, which I took to mean they try.
I ended up getting a 6-pack of basic flavors (there are fancier flavors but they come in a 4 pack for a little more). I usually go for unique flavors, but it's best to judge things like cookies based on the classics. I got 2 vegan birthday cake (one for my sister), the GF vegan chocolate chip, snickerdoodle, oatmeal raisin, and mint chocolate chip. The allergy friendly ones were packaged separately - WOOT! These all totaled at $12.99.
So how are these cookies? They come warm and are chewy! Quite good. They seem to stay chewy after 2 days out even at room temperature and aren't too sweet. They look like regular cookies, maybe slightly smaller than the palm of my hand. Perfect for one person. A solid cookie choice, for sure. I think they might have some seasonal flavors, as opposed to Crumbl where they have 1 or 2 repeat flavors and the other 4 to 5 changes every week, out of a total of 6 flavors. Insomnia has more flavors at a time... maybe double? I forgot to take a photo of the menu. Oops.
So what is my final decision?
At first glance, Insomnia wins based on price (I think it was $2.25 per cookie), BUT Crumbl wins when you know one Crumbl cookie is meant for 4 servings ($4.28 per cookie, but if you divide it by 4 it's $1.07 or - let's be real here - by 2, it's $2.14, so still slightly cheaper than Insomnia unless you get a set). Crumbl does put frosting on some flavors and it can be on the sweet side, but I don't find their actual cookie that sweet and the frosting layer isn't too thick (and I'm normally anti-frosting). Pie fillings generally aren't as sweet as frosting so I have a soft spot whenever they release pie flavors. The biggest difference is probably the question of traditional chewy cookies (Insomnia) versus gigantic lofthouse-esque cookies that occasionally lean towards over-the-top, depending on the flavor (Crumbl). I admit I do love lofthouse cookies. I enjoy the crumbly texture and the slightly underbaked nature of it, which is why I gravitated towards Crumbl. And Crumbl is closer to me. I also appreciate a good chewy cookie, which is Insomnia. I do think the staff at Crumbl are a little friendlier, but I've only been to Insomnia once, so perhaps it was a bad day. I also like how I can see the people making the cookies at Crumbl whereas Insomnia has a closed kitchen. I don't see either as too sweet so they even out there. Insomnia does open past midnight 7 days a week whereas Crumbl closes by midnight 6 days a week (they're closed on Sundays).
It's almost a tie, but Crumbl wins by a few extra points because I can make my own cookies, but I cannot make a pie-inspired Crumbl cookie at home. Huge kudos to Insomnia for catering to those with specialty diets though, and that's why they get 4 stars and I'll return when I'm in the area. Crumbl can only guarantee a nut-free kitchen on the weeks they don't offer any flavors containing nuts. Do note I did look at Insomnia's website and they cannot guarantee that their cookies are free from allergens since it is a shared kitchen. As such, I still haven't allowed my 2 year old with the food allergies, most of which need an EpiPen to treat, try the cookie I got specifically for him. So that sort of negates the fact that you serve allergy-friendly options... that cannot be guaranteed.
With full certainty, I can say I like Insomnia cookies more than Tiff's Treats (sorry). I find Tiff's Treats way too sweet, I need to drown myself in milk during and after.
So there you have it!