12 Insomnia Cookie Flavors, Ranked Worst To Best

For those who don't feel like making their own cookies, or simply have a hankering for cookies in the wee hours of the morning (depending on location), Insomnia Cookies is here to answer the call. The cookie chain began in a dorm room in 2003, Insomnia Cookies has since expanded to over 200 locations in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. One of the differentiating factors from other cookie chains is that, at Insomnia Cookies, every cookie is served warm, giving it that fresh-out-of-the-oven feel. Indeed, even a mediocre cookie tastes miles better when it's been gently heated to ooey-gooey perfection, and this may be why its frequently been crowned as one of the best cookie chains in the U.S. 

As a baker who has whipped up more than a few batches of cookies in my time and prides myself on finding the best recipes for certain flavors, I took it upon myself –– with the aid of some eager friends and family –– to taste and rank 12 of Insomnia Cookies' creations. From the classic to the more unusual, we nibbled, noshed, and noted what made these cookies a success, or what rendered them pretty lackluster. (None were total failures –– they're still cookies, after all.) Flavor and texture were the primary ranking factors here, as well as freshness (i.e., stale cookies need not apply). While we all tried not to compare these cookies to any we had previously encountered, certain classic flavors, like chocolate chunk or peanut butter, did face more rigorous standards by virtue of being varieties we had all tried many times before.

As a food writer who has doubled as a baker and made plenty of vegan treats in my time, it pains me to put one of only two plant-based cookies sampled in the last-place spot. However, when I'm noshing on a full dozen cookies, the flaws tend to stand out more than they might if I had enjoyed a single cookie. With all that being said, it was Insomnia Cookies' Vegan Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip cookie that has the dubious distinction of landing at the bottom of this list. 

I had expected a bit of dryness and stiffness with this gluten-free cookie. Perhaps the cookie dough wasn't rested properly (a crucial step for making gluten-free cookies), but this cookie got harder the longer it sat out. Next, there was a weird smell to it, sort of bitter, and not from the dairy-free chocolate chips. I thought it might have been the plant-based margarine, since the odd smell transferred to an unpleasant taste, too. Ultimately, this cookie landed at the bottom of this list because of these factors. It's not an absolutely terrible choice if you are both gluten-free and vegan, but it's not one I would ever recommend if you don't have those dietary restrictions.

With a cheerful smattering of rainbow sprinkles, this Vegan Birthday Cake cookie is a childhood dream. This plant-based variety is an alternative to Insomnia Cookie's Confetti Deluxe flavor, but it did not meet the bar set by its visuals.

It smelled delicious, with a nice buttery, vanilla aroma (despite containing no butter). When my fellow tasters and I split it into pieces for equal sharing, we did notice that it was a little stiffer than the non-vegan cookies, but that was to be expected. After all, since it doesn't contain butter and eggs, a little dryness is normal and forgivable. However, it was the taste that ultimately pushed this cookie into second-to-last place. It was so bland. It wasn't even sweetness masquerading as blandness –– this cookie was just blah. The only thing I could identify was the sprinkles, which had a mildly crunchy, slightly waxy texture and provided more color than flavor.

Despite its vibrant appearance, this cookie was a letdown. Although it was advertised as being made with vanilla (which I could smell), it certainly didn't taste of much of anything.

Do you like eating toothpaste and then licking a chocolate bar? If so, you're gonna love this Double Chocolate Mint cookie from Insomnia Cookies. I, for one, do happen to love the combination of mint and chocolate, but only when it's done well and properly balanced — which, unfortunately, was not the case here.

The smell of this cookie was overwhelmingly minty, so much so that it left my fingers with that just-brushed scent after I ate it. That smell translates to the flavor, too, which got even mintier the longer it lingered on my taste buds. Those mint chips were strong. Strangely, upon looking at the ingredients, there was no additional peppermint extract –– the mint flavor came solely from those chips, which just speaks to their strength. One of the tasters hates this flavor combo and so couldn't rank it without bias, but even the other tasters who do like chocolate and mint together (like myself) found this iteration to be unpleasant. It was just too much and not in a delicious, moreish way. This cookie saved itself from being at the bottom thanks to its texture, which was soft, tender, and not the least bit dry.

While some desserts are made better with white chocolate, these White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies are decidedly mid. I know that macadamia nuts are on the pricier end of the spectrum, but this cookie had like three nuts in it total, which made it more white chocolate-heavy. Additionally, even though the duo of white chocolate and macadamia nuts is a popular one in the cookie world, it's a pretty mild pairing that kind of fades into the background when held up against more robust flavors.

This cookie was safe. It was the beige wall, the millennial gray of cookies. It was fine, but it was also boring. As well, I found this cookie to be the greasiest of the ones I sampled. Now, that could be because of the fatty macadamia nuts, but it was worth noting. Additionally, aside from the mild flavor, its texture didn't hold up compared to the others in the box. If you already like this flavor combo, you'll like this cookie. If, however, you prefer something bolder, keep reading.

Chocoholics will absolutely love this cookie, which has a dark cocoa base studded with a generous helping of milk chocolate chunks. The dark chocolate base offers a nice contrast to the sweeter milk chocolate pieces. Had Insomnia Cookies gone for bittersweet chocolate, or even dark chocolate, and this cookie might have ranked a bit lower for being too one-note. Using milk chocolate instead made for a sweeter (literally) contrast between the two, which kept this cookie nicely balanced. The texture was nice and soft, and it was tender and easily bent. 

However, it was a bit basic, which is why it's only hovering around the middle of this ranking. If you're a big fan of chocolate, this is absolutely the cookie for you. For me, some of the other cookies offered something more unexpected in their execution, even if they were classic in flavor.

Following the Double Chocolate Chunk is its classic, blonder twin: Chocolate Chunk. Unlike the vegan and gluten-free version, this OG cookie uses chunks instead of chips, offering more chocolate in each bite. (One taster thought it was too much chocolate, but the rest of us disagreed.)

This cookie had lovely crisp edges while still remaining soft in the middle –– but it was not underbaked. The inside was chewy and had the appropriate level of caramelization, but this cookie was still missing something. In a head-to-head tasting battle of Crumbl versus Insomnia Cookies, another Tasting Table writer found that Crumbl's cookie was nudged ahead due to the addition of sea salt, and I couldn't agree more. Using milk chocolate chunks as opposed to dark chocolate, bittersweet, or even semi-sweet made this cookie a little blah. This could have been remedied by adding more vanilla and a touch of salt on top to better balance the flavors. As it was, it was a decent chocolate chip cookie, but a middle spot is exactly where it belongs.

Taking inspiration from a cookie to make another cookie? I can appreciate this feat of cookie-ception. This meta-cookie from Insomnia Cookies features chunks of Oreo-adjacent chocolate sandwich cookies (the actual brand used isn't disclosed) and vanilla –– not white chocolate –– chips. And we have these chips to thank for bringing the Oreo vibes home. 

From the first whiff of this Cookies and Cream cookie, I definitely picked up what it was putting down. It was a sweet cookie –– arguably the sweetest of the bunch –– but surprisingly, not in a cloying way. One of the tasters particularly liked that this cookie didn't have a chocolate base and relied on the vanilla chips and cookie pieces to bring the Oreo inspiration. It almost gave off an ice cream flavor.

It was an excellent interpretation of cookies and cream without being overwhelming or feeling half-hearted. I appreciate that Insomnia Cookies has also made this flavor part of its regular rotation (but with white chocolate instead of vanilla chips), since every fan of this particular flavor profile should be able to have a taste.

This was a bit of a polarizing pick for the top five, as I wasn't a particular fan. However, I had to defer to the folks I was tasting this cookie with, and they all really, really enjoyed it. Insomnia Cookies describes this flavor as "a melt-in-your-mouth, buttery cookie with hints of vanilla," and I definitely got that. It was incredibly soft (I found it to be borderline underbaked) and was very buttery, with a vanilla-forward smell and flavor. It was pretty darn good for a sugar cookie.

With all that being said –– and acknowledging that my tasters were big fans –– I found this cookie to be a touch bland. Even more vanilla and a sprinkle of added salt would've really given this flavor some oomph. As it was, it was a bit boring. Kids would love this cookie, which, despite looking pretty unassuming, is still sweet and mild enough to appeal to immature palates. This cookie was fine, but a few tweaks here and there would have bumped it up one or even two spots.

My first note of this cookie was "Finally, salt!" and that explains why the Peanut Butter Chip cookie nabbed the fourth-place slot. Peanut butter cookies are rarely my cookie of choice, especially when chocolate flavors are available, but this cookie definitely surprised me.

It was tender, with a buttery feel that didn't veer into greasiness –– a true baking feat. It was slightly dry at the edges, which is par for the course when it comes to peanut butter cookies, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Unlike some peanut butter cookies, this version from Insomnia Cookies doesn't use any chopped peanuts. Instead, the flavor comes from the peanut butter used in the dough (like this recipe for classic peanut butter cookies) as well as peanut butter chips. Both components keep the cookie moist while also ramping up that peanut flavor. Plus, this cookie was still semi-warm, which made those chips deliciously melty. You could almost say that it's too peanutty, but you'd be wrong (especially if you have a glass of milk handy). This cookie climbed all the way to fourth place because I was truly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. The only reason it didn't make it closer to the top is because a couple tasters really hate peanut butter cookies, and the top three were more universally loved.

The Oatmeal Raisin cookie is yet another dark horse. Look, I am not a fan of raisins or oatmeal raisin cookies. Why put raisins in there when you could mix in chocolate chips instead and make the world just a little bit better? That being said, this was a good cookie. Like, surprisingly good.

As with all the Insomnia Cookies, this flavor had plenty of mix-ins, which is to say it had a lot of raisins. Some of the tasters loved it, while one thought it was too much. I, an avowed raisin hater, actually didn't mind the amount of raisins, as they were juicy and the tiniest bit tart, providing some much-needed balance after however many cookies I had tried by this point. What all of the tasters and I agreed on, though, was that this cookie needed more oats. I understand that the amount used was probably to keep the cookie from getting dry or crumbly, but an extra tablespoon or so would've really made this cookie shine. The spice level was nice; the cinnamon very evident without being overwhelming. Thanks to the flavor of the molasses, this oatmeal raisin flavor was a decidedly cozy cookie, ideal for eating on a drizzly day.

Where the sugar cookie failed, this snickerdoodle succeeded. (Yes, there is a difference between sugar cookies and snickerdoodles.) This was the first cookie we all tried and, at first, I was worried that first-tasting bias might be the deciding factor here. After all, this cookie was the warmest and freshest, since it came straight out of the box. However, as I munched on, I realized that temperature was not entirely the culprit behind this cookie's high ranking; it really was that good.

This Snickerdoodle cookie was bursting with cinnamon flavor and was incredibly buttery. It was crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside –– exactly how a snickerdoodle should be. There wasn't as much of that snickerdoodle tang from the cream of tartar, and that's because, according to the nutritional info, Insomnia Cookies doesn't include it in its snickerdoodle recipe. I did miss that ingredient to round out the flavor profile, but it wasn't too much of a hindrance to this cookie. It was warm, it was buttery, and it was full of cinnamon flavor. Not too sweet, and simply well executed, this cookie more than earned its second-place spot.

The number-one cookie in this ranking is a heartbreaker, because it is so delicious and yet is only available for a limited time. Sometimes, perfection is fleeting. This Lemon Haze Filled cookie tasted just like springtime, with a bright, punchy flavor that surprised all the tasters. A few of the tasters (myself included) are particularly fond of lemon, and this cookie didn't disappoint.

Unlike any of the other cookies, this was the only filled one. It was pumped full of a sweet and tangy lemon curd that wasn't too thick, so it didn't give an unpleasant, gelatinous feel. Instead, it was just drippy enough that it oozed out when I took a bite. The flavor of the curd itself was excellent, with a hit of lemon that didn't edge into cleaning solution territory –– a delicate balance lemon desserts know well.

Insomnia Cookies describes it as a ricotta cookie, but I didn't get that from this sample. What I did get was a nice, subtly sweet cookie with an excellent crunch from the sugar crystals and a punchy pop of lemon. It's a winner any time of year, not just for spring.

Ranking these cookies from worst to best was a tall order, so I used fellow taste testers to help me provide the most thorough, accurate ranking (and save me from blowing out my palate). This ranking was determined based on the flavor, texture, and freshness of the cookies, as well as their overall quality. I was looking for a tender, but not underbaked, cookie, with a well-rounded, balanced flavor that wasn't saccharine or bland. I also considered the amount of mix-ins used in some of the flavors. 

The cookies were sold warm (which makes all cookies that much tastier), but the tasters also sampled them after they had cooled slightly. Two vegan and one gluten-free cookie were tested to better assess how Insomnia Cookies provides products for those with dietary restrictions. All cookies were from the "Classic" lineup as opposed to the "Deluxe," and the Lemon Haze Filled cookie was the only limited-time item.