It’s a hectic day at Sara Berman’s Preston Hollow home — climbing over baby gates, people coming and going, the family Wieneriemer running around clutching its favorite stuffed toy — and somehow, Berman runs an online bakery business with her mother, Lynn Berman, who lives in the house right behind Sara. “I hope you can handle crazy,” Sara tells us. The phone calls and online orders have been pouring in since the mother-daughter team officially launched Nothing Like It last summer, and they now offer gluten-free options. Both women have full-time jobs — Sara renovates homes, and Lynn works for Virginia Cook. But people just couldn’t stop talking about Lynn’s homemade cookies, baked from scratch. It all started with the birth of Sara’s twin boys.

How did you two start the business?
SB: I was pregnant — or should I say imprisoned — in the hospital with twins in 2005. I was 60 days on bed rest. My mom said that the best way to make friends was with cookies, so she started baking them and bringing them to the hospital. At 6 a.m., a nurse would come in to ‘run a test’, always leaving with cookies. Finally, one of the doctors said that if we could make this into something, he would invest. That’s when I thought, ‘Wow, maybe we have something here.’

Where do the recipes come from?

LB: Right here.

SB: Her oatmeal raisin cookie recipe she has had since she was 12 or 13 years old.

What makes the cookies so good?

LB: They’re not minute-made. They’re old school. There’s no corn syrup or preservatives. It’s not cutting corners. Everything is watered down today. I cook real food. I learned everything from my mother. Give me a refrigerator full of leftovers, and I can make you a dinner you wouldn’t believe. We’ve just now started with the gluten-free.

What’s that all about?

SB: So many people have celiac. A lot of people can’t eat wheat, can’t have flour. If we can offer an alternative, then why not?

LB: Sara’s sister-in-law has a problem and can’t have gluten, and she was our test platform. We also delivered some to Sara’s friend who runs a gym for special needs children.

SB: Right after, they contacted me and said, ‘You guys are lying, these are not gluten-free.’ You really can’t taste the difference.

LB: Is it a gluten-free kitchen? No, but everything is kept clean and separate. It’s not going to be our main thing.

SB: Sugar-free will be something we work on next. But we don’t want to strip it of everything.

What is your absolute favorite item on the menu?

SB: It really depends on the day. If I’m talking cookies, it’s the rapadoodle or the peanut butter. If I’m talking cake, it’s the strawberry or chocolate.

LB: The oatmeal raisin cookies, because I don’t like chocolate.

Do you see a storefront in your future?

SB: No. Doing it this way, we can go all over. We have customers from all over the country and even in Canada. We’ve got social media, tweeting, blogging. Our storefront can be our website. We don’t have to be dependent on walk-ins.

LB: It’s much more controlled. We do a lot of corporate stuff.

How do you juggle it all, both with full-time careers?

SB: Did you know there are 36 hours in a day?

LB: We’re very energetic a lot of the time.

Nothing Like It offers a special package for Valentine’s Day that includes a strawberry or chocolate loaf. To place an order, visit nothinglikeit.com, call 888.763.3542 or email sales@nothinglikeit.com.