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Berger cookies: From Baltimore, to Washington

An icon in “Bawlmer,” Berger cookies are making headway in Washington.

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Attiya Miller readies boxes of Berger cookies for wrapping at the Berger bakery in Baltimore’s Cherry Hill neighborhood. The cookies are sold in Washington area Giant grocery stores, as well as in a few small shops and delis. This summer, they’ll crop up in Safeways. Why the recent southward migration? “Because there’s a lot of money down there,” says Bergers owner Charles DeBaufre Jr. “And it’s close enough that these gas prices won’t kill me.”

Bonnie Jo Mount / WASHINGTON POST

Every day, 23,000 Berger cookies are created with one mixer in a spartan room the size of a small elementary school cafeteria. The cracked concrete floor is littered with broken cookies and random streaks of dried chocolate. The signature cookie accounts for 98 percent of the bakery’s $2.5 million annual sales.

Every day, 23,000 Berger cookies are created with one mixer in a spartan room the size of a small elementary school cafeteria. The cracked concrete floor is littered with broken cookies and random streaks of dried chocolate. The signature cookie accounts for 98 percent of the bakery’s $2.5 million annual sales.

Bonnie Jo Mount / WASHINGTON POST

A mixing bowl at the baker. King Arthur Flour blogger PJ Hamel re-created the recipe twice on the company’s highly popular recipe page. “I liked that this cookie is not only specific to a city but to one bakery.” The cookie occupies a seat in Baltimore’s gastronomic pantheon alongside Old Bay seasoning, blue crabs and crab cakes.

A mixing bowl at the baker. King Arthur Flour blogger PJ Hamel re-created the recipe twice on the company’s highly popular recipe page. “I liked that this cookie is not only specific to a city but to one bakery.” The cookie occupies a seat in Baltimore’s gastronomic pantheon alongside Old Bay seasoning, blue crabs and crab cakes.

Bonnie Jo Mount / WASHINGTON POST

Glen Geater stirs a bowl of chocolate frosting at the bakery. Each cookie is hand-dipped into frosting. “A chocolate delivery vehicle” is how one food blogger refers to the Berger. The slightly grainy, ganache-dense frosting made with fudge measures a good half-inch. A cookie might feel as if it weighs half of a one-pound pack.

Glen Geater stirs a bowl of chocolate frosting at the bakery. Each cookie is hand-dipped into frosting. “A chocolate delivery vehicle” is how one food blogger refers to the Berger. The slightly grainy, ganache-dense frosting made with fudge measures a good half-inch. A cookie might feel as if it weighs half of a one-pound pack.

Bonnie Jo Mount / WASHINGTON POST

After cookies are topped with frosting, they’re lined on a pan. “Here’s the thing about Bergers,” says Duff Goldman, the high-profile owner of Baltimore’s renowned bakery Charm City Cakes and star of the Food Network’s past hit show “Ace of Cakes.” “It’s all about the ratio. ... The cookie’s, like, 96 percent frosting.”

Bonnie Jo Mount / WASHINGTON POST

Little is known about the namesakes of the Berger cookie. German emigre Henry Berger opened up shop in Baltimore in 1835 (DeBaufre’s father and uncle purchased the bakery in 1969), and local lore has it that Berger and his brother George brought the recipe from the Old Country. But that just isn’t so. Cookie cookbook author, historian and blogger Nancy Baggett says that, based on research in Germany, “recipes for cookies with chocolate in or on them … don’t appear until the very late 19th or early 20th centuries,” after chocolate became widely manufactured and more affordable.

Little is known about the namesakes of the Berger cookie. German emigre Henry Berger opened up shop in Baltimore in 1835 (DeBaufre’s father and uncle purchased the bakery in 1969), and local lore has it that Berger and his brother George brought the recipe from the Old Country. But that just isn’t so. Cookie cookbook author, historian and blogger Nancy Baggett says that, based on research in Germany, “recipes for cookies with chocolate in or on them … don’t appear until the very late 19th or early 20th centuries,” after chocolate became widely manufactured and more affordable.

Bonnie Jo Mount / WASHINGTON POST

There are many ways to eat a Berger cookie, including from the freezer, says writer Andrew Reiner. Others eat the frosting first.

There are many ways to eat a Berger cookie, including from the freezer, says writer Andrew Reiner. Others eat the frosting first.

Bonnie Jo Mount / WASHINGTON POST

Berger cookies line a cookie sheet at the bakery in Baltimore. “Foods like these are the next stage in food consciousness,” says food historian Frederick Kaufman. “We’re moving beyond an elitist foodie movement into a more democratic element.” He adds that people are starting to place “more value in local manufacturing and down-and-dirty culture.”

Berger cookies line a cookie sheet at the bakery in Baltimore. “Foods like these are the next stage in food consciousness,” says food historian Frederick Kaufman. “We’re moving beyond an elitist foodie movement into a more democratic element.” He adds that people are starting to place “more value in local manufacturing and down-and-dirty culture.”

Bonnie Jo Mount / WASHINGTON POST

Since taking over in 1994, DeBaufre has made precious few changes to his family’s business. He says that the cookie hasn’t changed in appearance since at least the mid-1950s (although it no longer contains butter and shortening) and that the retro-looking brown box bearing the name “Bergers” hasn’t changed since 1970. (It had been red.)

Since taking over in 1994, DeBaufre has made precious few changes to his family’s business. He says that the cookie hasn’t changed in appearance since at least the mid-1950s (although it no longer contains butter and shortening) and that the retro-looking brown box bearing the name “Bergers” hasn’t changed since 1970. (It had been red.)

Bonnie Jo Mount / WASHINGTON POST

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