Twins pitcher Simeon Woods Richardson finds sweet spot in cookie company

One of Simeon Woods Richardson’s favorite traditions after games was visiting cookie shops with longtime friend Aaron Robinson, his trainer from his hometown of Houston, who coincidentally grew up in Minneapolis.

Following a game last season, Woods Richardson, a Twins starting pitcher, made a comment to Robinson that sparked a yearlong project.

“We always demolish cookies,” Woods Richardson said. “I said, ‘For the amount of money we spend on cookies, let’s just open up our own shop.’ ”

One year later and that’s the plan.

The Cozy Cookie is available in the family value concession stands (sections 120, 133 and 311) and the markets in sections 105 and 126 at Target Field, after the new company partnered with Delaware North before the season started. There are five signature flavors, ranging from chocolate chip, a golden Oreo and the “Deuce Monster” that is colored blue with white morsels.

Woods Richardson said there are plans to open a storefront in Uptown.

“We already had the space,” Woods Richardson said. “We were just figuring out what we wanted to do with it. Now we had an idea, and we’ve got it rolling now. It should be fun. It should be exciting. I’m happy for [Robinson].”

Woods Richardson frequented Insomnia Cookies, among other places, before he helped create some of his own. One priority, he said, was ensuring there were several gluten-free options. He has family members who have gluten intolerance, and he felt there weren’t many gluten-free offerings at many of the cookie shops he visited.

“That was one of the things that was big for me, for another community that can go enjoy cookies,” Woods Richardson said. “We do like specialty cookies. We tried to do natural ingredients to where you’re not getting preservatives and stuff in it. We try to find the best ingredients that we can.”

As much as Woods Richardson has enjoyed helping create a business, the salesman part doesn’t come naturally to him. Several of his teammates who are around him daily were unaware he had a part in cookies sold at their home ballpark.

When he brainstormed potential Twins-related cookie ideas, he thought about teaming with Byron Buxton for a “Buck Truck” cookie over something that was related directly to himself.

“I’ve never been that way,” said the 24-year-old Woods Richardson, who has a 2-2 record and a 4.03 ERA with 30 strikeouts and 11 walks in 29 innings this season. “Even on my birthday, I get really, really internally in my shell. For me, the most uncomfortable thing is having someone sing me ‘Happy Birthday,’ and I just sit there and listen.

“I’m not the type of person, ‘Hey guys, let me just shove it down your face.’ If people want to enjoy it, come along the way and they ask me a question, yeah, but I try to stay under-the-radar as low as possible.”

There are a lot of layers to the cookie business. Finding ingredients, deciding on flavors, differentiating from established companies are all parts of it. It’s a new area for Woods Richardson, though traveling across the country and visiting different shops was beneficial.

“For Crumbl, Insomnia, everybody, I never thought about [behind the scenes] until you’re in it,” he said. “Ideas are always endless with possibilities that you can do with cookies.”

Woods Richardson pitches every five or six days, so there is plenty of time to contemplate the next great cookie. As he chases one passion during his second full season in the big leagues, being part of a new business is another one.

“I’m a firm believer that baseball is what you do, but it’s not who you are,” Woods Richardson said. “It’s just another steppingstone in my life, and I enjoy being in it. It’s fun right now.”