Hungry? Student offers cookies worth staying up for

Within the kitchen of his off-campus house, College junior Seth Berkowitz unfolds a small rectangular table, lays his bowls out across the top and gets to work.

Wearing a backwards baseball hat and jeans, he measures flour, sugar and baking soda. He unwraps a stick of butter but drops it on the floor before he can get it into the microwave and melt it. Berkowitz runs upstairs to grab another one from his supply of approximately 200 that he stores in the refrigerator in his room -- keeping them out of reach from his eight other housemates -- along with boxes of eggs, bags of flour and 1,000-count bags of chocolate chips.

With a power mixer, Berkowitz combines all of the ingredients, including some that he prefers to keep secret, and then divides the batter into large tennis-ball-sized blobs on a baking sheet.

Ten minutes later, the air is filled with the smell of fresh chocolate chip cookies. Berkowitz opens the oven and peeks in.

"Yeah, they're ready," he says, claiming that he can tell when his cookies are done just by looking at them.

To Berkowitz, baking isn't just an enjoyable pastime -- it's also a business. After perfecting his recipes for cookies, brownies and blondies over the summer, Berkowitz began Insomnia Cookies, a late-night bakery delivery service.

As the founder and sole operator of the business, Berkowitz provides Penn students with fresh chewy cookies hot out of the oven from Sunday to Wednesday, 9 p.m. until 2 a.m., and sometimes even 3 a.m.

Berkowitz officially opened Insomnia Cookies earlier this month, whipping up baked goods such as chocolate pecan cookies, white chocolate brownies and butterscotch blondies. He sees his late-night treats as the alternative to pizza and his door-to-door delivery service as appealing to students who don't want to walk to Freshgrocer or Wawa.

Berkowitz says that he has always loved to cook and as an economics major feels that Insomnia Cookies has also allowed him to utilize the business theories he has learned in the classroom. But he admits that his main motivation for starting the business had nothing to do with academics.

"Since I'm a crammer, I'm usually bored at night. This keeps me entertained," Berkowitz explains, shrugging his shoulders.

When a cookie order is called in, Berkowitz asks, "How would you like your cookies?" He promises that he can prepare them so they're either melting in your mouth or crunching between your teeth. "Either way, they have the same flavor," he says. "And that's what's important."

Berkowitz tries to get his cookies, brownies or blondies to his customers as quickly as possible, but with orders frequently coming in clumps, things can get a little crazy.

"I had one disaster early on," recalls Berkowitz. "I wasn't prepared for a huge order yet. I threw in everything for a batch of brownies, but they wouldn't cook. I think I forgot an ingredient, and I had to start all over again. The brownies took an hour to make so I gave them to the customer free of charge."

Customers can order baked goods in quantities of six, eight or 12 and choose from a wide variety.

"Anybody can eat at least six cookies in a sitting," Berkowitz boasts. Successful as his baked goods may be, Berkowitz is still trying to add to his menu, promising that s'mores are on the way. He offers low-fat options as well but admits that there hasn't been much demand. "They just don't taste as good," he explains.

So far, Insomnia Cookies has been feeding students all over Penn, on campus as well as off campus. Berkowitz delivers to individuals as well as big groups, supplying snacks for late night study sessions, movie nights and any other activities that bring on the munchies. He's even delivered his cookies to a 21st birthday party where he was asked to sing, a request that he declined.

Each customer is given an account number, allowing Berkowitz to keep track of his clients. "I have a bunch of customers who are getting hooked," he says.

He confesses that his housemates are some of his most demanding customers. "It's stressful living with eight guys who stand over you and try to grab cookies, so I make them a batch a week," he says.

If Insomnia Cookies takes off, Berkowitz may expand his business out to Drexel's campus and even hire a delivery person. Berkowitz's cookie venture already has its own Web site, www.insomniacookies.com.

Now Berkowitz receives an average of five orders per night, giving him time to mix up his batter, do some homework and then make deliveries. Berkowitz promises that Insomnia Cookies will be open for business, regardless of the demands of his classes.

And what do his parents think of his new business? "My mom loves it. My dad tells me to focus on school," Berkowitz explains.

"People ask me the funniest questions like, are you going to be rich? Will we see you on the cover of a magazine? Are you making money?" Berkowitz recalls, smiling. Although he may not have the answers to these questions, he will continue to try to satisfy Penn's late night cravings.

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