 | |
| Type | Cookie |
|---|---|
| Created by | DeBaufre Bakeries |
Berger Cookies are a handmade cookie made and marketed by DeBaufre Bakeries of Baltimore, Maryland. The cookies are widely known for their thick, chocolate frosting on an imperfectly shaped shortbread cookie. Not unlike a black and white cookie,[1] the Berger Cookie is frosted on its flat bottom, giving the final cookie an overall rounded shape. Each weighs 1.25 ounces, with the cake-like under-cookie weighing a quarter of an ounce, and the chocolate/fudge frosting weighing an ounce.[2] DeBaufre distributes packaged Berger Cookies via a delivery network around Baltimore and markets the cookies worldwide via internet sales.
The history of the Berger Cookie traces directly to George and Henry Berger, brothers who emigrated from Germany in 1835 to Baltimore, Maryland, bringing their recipe.[3] The bakery changed family ownership twice, to become today's DeBaufre Bakeries, which continues to make and market the cookies. As of 2016, the bakery employed 23 people and made roughly a million of the cookies annually, with the cookies comprising about 98 percent of the company's business.[4]
Berger Cookies became widely known after they were featured in a 1995 article in The Baltimore Sun, with orders increasing from 300 to 10,000.[5] They won the 2011 "Best of Baltimore Award," the "Best Cookie" award in 2011,[3][6] and have been featured on the Rachael Ray show, on The Best Thing I Ever Ate on the Food Network, and on The Talk on CBS. In 2015, Berger Cookies were voted the "Best Local Foodie Product" by Baltimore City Paper readers.[4] In 2021, Whole Foods marketed a copy of the Berger Cookie, as the "Charm City Cookie."[7]
- ^ "Baltimore Berger Cookies". KingArthurBaking.com. King Arthur Baking.
- ^ "All About Berger Cookies, State Fare's Favorite Snack". Statefaremd.com. State Fare Restaurant. October 25, 2019.
- ^ a b Ponder, Rachel (August 11, 2016). "Baltimore's iconic sweet treat: Berger cookie traces roots to 1830s". APG News. Aberdeen Proving Ground: United States Army. Archived from the original on November 18, 2021.
- ^ Krishna, Priya (November 15, 2017). "The Quest to Save Baltimore's Iconic Berger Cookie". Gastro Obscura. Atlas Obscura.
- ^ Gorelick, Richard (September 15, 2011). "Berger cookies rolling out again". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on January 4, 2014.
- ^ "Whole Foods Is Selling Their Own "Berger Cookies" & People Aren't Happy". The Laurie DeYoung Show. WPOC. March 10, 2021.