Baltimore’s Finest: The Sequel.
So, one blog and some 3 dozen comments later, Baltimore’s finest cookie—the Berger Cookie—has resurfaced in a new incarnation. Like the REAL Berger cookie (can you pick it out in the photo above?), our new version is smaller, and spread with frosting that’s closer to the original and heaped even higher. This is my final take on these cookies—I promise!
First, I want to thank reader Ann Dahne for sending me two packages of real Baltimore Berger Cookies. They’ve been an invaluable aid in my continuing research.
I broke them into little bits, and the King Arthur Web group—Halley, Jim, Tracy, Janet, and I—all taste-tested. YUM was the consensus. So YUM was my new goal.
I started by reducing the size of the cookies to about 2 1/4”. To do this, I cut the recipe to 1/3 its original; it now yields 28 smaller cookies, which is plenty.
To make the perfect-size cookies, I used a teaspoon cookie scoop…
…and flattened the cookies to about 1 1/2” across.
The new icing adds vanilla and confectioners’ sugar; subtracts butter; and substitutes chocolate chips for the unsweetened chocolate in the original. But other than that, it’s prepared in the same way: everything except the sugar heated together; stirred till smooth; and the sugar beaten in at the end. The one main difference: the frosting on Berger’s original cookies tastes EXACTLY like the frosting on Hostess cupcakes. I haven’t figured out how to duplicate that distinctive “snack cake” flavor. Mine is more chocolate-y. Sorry, folks!
Another key change: cooled cookies have their BOTTOMS dipped in the frosting, rather than spreading it on top.
Yes, it’s a messy process. Use a pair of tongs if you like, but it’s SO SO SO much easier to use your fingers.
Once all the cookies have been dipped, dollop the remaining frosting on top, spreading it evenly.
See the “real” Berger Cookie here? A wolf in sheep’s clothing, eh?
Which is which? Original Berger on the left; our version on the right. Pretty good, huh?
Read our revised Berger Cookie recipe, which you’ll find at the end of our recipe for Baltimore’s Finest.
May 12th, 2008 at 11:38 am
Do you think if you used some Dark chocolate cocoa aka black cocoa powder it would help with the taste of the icing?
May 12th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
JJ, the frosting tastes fine as is - deeply chocolate-y. It’s simply missing the distinctive (not chocolate-y) kind of sugary, “artificial” taste you’ll taste in snack cake frosting, e.g., Hostess cupcakes, or in bottled chocolate syrup.
May 12th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
I always thought that “fake” chocolate flavor in commercial cupcake icing and in chocolate syrup was due to their use of cocoa/confectioners’ sugar instead of using chocolate. And I think using imitation vanilla contributes to the fake flavor as well.
May 12th, 2008 at 9:58 pm
Now this is more like the Bergers I love!, but don’t tell… I think your version looks more yummy.
May 13th, 2008 at 9:43 pm
PJ,
I grew up just outside Baltimore, and my folks still live there. My mom works about a block away from Lexington Market, where the Berger Bakery has a shop & they sell the authentic Berger cookies - the package you showed a photo of is NOT the Berger Bakery package. They may be labeled “Berger,” and they may be from a bakery in “Balmer,” but those are copycats.
While the photos of the cookies themselves look close to the real thing, I have to say that your description of the taste of the icing doesn’t match my experience of the “real thing” - it’s always tasted more like fudge to me than like icing.
May 13th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
PJ,
Sorry, I accidentally hit “Submit” before I was finished talking - kudos to you for working so hard on this recipe & for taking all our flak with a smile!
(And just so there’s no confusion, I’m a different Bonnie from the Bonnie Kohl who posted on the last Berger cookie discussion! The first & last time I posted was to the Home Ec thread . . . )
May 14th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
They have a website: www.bergercookies.com
It includes a history of the bakery and cookie, and the cookies can be ordered on-line (in case you want to do your own taste test comparison with the homemade version). Even though I have ready access to the commercial cookie, I am going to try your homemade version. Just remember, the cookie part of a true Berger cookie is merely a vehicle to carry the fudge on top!
May 14th, 2008 at 9:39 pm
I assure you that the cookies pictured are the genuine article. Berger has been offering 2-packs of their cookies for about two years, primarily at convenience stores. They are the real thing, just in a portion control wrapper. The more common package, a 15-ounce mound of cookies, can ruin a diet faster than nearly anything else I can think of. As PJ said, “Yum.”
It’s interesting that Bonnie mentioned that the frosting is fudge-like, since the main ingredients on the label are “Sugar, Flour, Water, Fudge.”
Thanks to PJ for a great detective job! I’m sure her cookies will taste at least as good as they look.
May 16th, 2008 at 9:18 pm
Umm . . . I think I owe Ann Dahne an apology - I didn’t mean to offend! I’m familiar with the cookies as bought fresh from the bakery or in the larger package, which sometimes shows up at my parent’s house during the holidays. (And thank goodness, only then, since you’re certainly correct about their diet-ruining properties.)
So please forgive my big mouth (good for sticking feet into, as well as cookies)! You were terrific to send PJ the cookies in the first place, and your generosity deserves praise, not denunciation.
May 16th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
Bonnie, no problem! This is obviously a subject that invokes a lot of passion - and FUN. I’m happy for all input - As for the taste of the frosting, try this: buy a pack of hostess cupcakes,and scrape the frosting on one into a wad (now, isn’t THAT an attractive mental picture!), and taste - this is what the Berger cookie frosting tasted like to me, as opposed to mine.
And anyway, I thought of another thing to try - what about if you spread the just-prepared frosting in a pan (9″ x 13″? 12″ round?) and nestled the cookies in it, bottom down? Then, once the frosting had set, just cut around the cookies and lift them up and out. Heck, you could even use a round cutter to be fancy…
May 16th, 2008 at 10:40 pm
Oh, my . . . PJ, I’m pretty sure that homemade Berger serving suggestion should be illegal in any state where swimsuits are worn! Mind you, that applies to Berger cookies in general, so I’ll settle for drooling into my keyboard.
May 17th, 2008 at 5:32 am
Well, Bonnie, that’s why living in Vermont is helpful -it’s winter 11 months of the year, and the 12th month I barely let go of my down and fleece, let alone put on a swimsuit!
May 18th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
PJ–What do you think about using bittersweet chocolate (two 6-oz bars) instead of the 12-oz of chocolate chips? Wouldn’t bittersweet chocolate give more of a chocolate flavor to the frosting?
May 18th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
Can’t wait to try the recipe. These are such a treat when we are in the Baltimore area!
May 18th, 2008 at 7:58 pm
Annette, sure, go ahead and use the bittersweet chocolate.It would definitely “deepen”the flavor of the frosting. I was trying to match the original Berger flavor, which actually isn’t that deep-dark;more a mild, sweet chocolate. Darn, now I want to make them again!
May 19th, 2008 at 10:08 am
I am the grandson of Harry Russell, who bought the company from Mr. Berger. My uncle owned it after my grandfather retired and in due time sold it to the DeBaufries who have done a splendid job keeping the tradition of great baking going.
So I was disappointed that this recipe did not even closely approximate a Berger’s cookie, The cookie part was fine, a little too much vanilla perhaps, but the icing was nowhere near the taste of that of a Berger cookie. I doubt the original recipe began with chocolate chips. But I think the main problem is that the “icing” is not really icing as in a black and white, it is fudge which is why it is so firm and sturdy on the cookie base. That may be the intention of your recipe, but if so the directions need to be more explicit in how to produce it as a fudge topping and not an icing toping.
The 1 tsp dollops for the cookies are a little to small, I’d encourage people to go bigger by half. Your recipe has inspured em though to figure out the fudge topping, when I get it right, I ‘ll send it. OF course you could get a box of the cookies and eat one then tweak teh recipe, then eat another andtweak it again… but that would be decadent! *s*
May 19th, 2008 at 10:19 am
One more thing…. the website recipe does not include in the icing making directions the fact that you hold back the confectioner’s sugar and beat it in last as described on this blog. In fact the confectioner’s sugar disappears from both version 1 and 2 recipes. I would not have known to do that had I not read the blog….
Mike
May 19th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Help! The second recipe does not say at which temperature we should bake the cookies. I am in the process of making them now. Please advise! Thanks so much!!
May 19th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
Debbie - Bake the cookies at the same temperature as in the first recipe, 400°F.
Mike, thanks for your input. I’ve fixed the online recipe to include the confectioners’ sugar in the directions. And, in fact, I DID have a couple of packages of Berger Cookies to compare to - the consistency of the frosting I made is nearly identical, it’s the taste I can’t quite seem to mimic - that Hostess Cupcake-type flavor. So if you can come up with a recipe - yeah, bring it on! The saga will continue…
May 20th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
Tried the Berger cookies yesterday and what a treat! We always look forward to buying these when we are in Maryland.
May 20th, 2008 at 6:25 pm
Oops! I was not looking at the blog and I DID miss the confectioner’s sugar (completely left it out all together!) No wonder my frosting was richer and did not firm up as much as I expected it to based on the photos! And PJ, you are right. I don’t know if it is possible to duplicate the flavor of Berger cookie frosting - they are quite unique. I am living in MA now but am a Baltimore native and my mom still sends me Berger cookies in the mail every once in awhile! I ALWAYS bake from scratch and generally NEVER buy cookies, but these are an exception! Thanks for all your efforts, and if you ever figure out the secret to the frosting, please share!!
June 13th, 2008 at 11:35 am
I made these cookies for a friend’s grand opening (new photography studio). I didn’t like them — too much frosting, too sweet for me. I would like them better if they had less frosting, no powdered sugar in the frosting. But I was amazed that out of all the cookies I sent (5 different kinds), these are the ones everyone reached for and raved over. I am outvoted! These will be on my list of cookies that please people from now on.
June 13th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
After listening to the rave reviews for this cookie, I decided to try one again. I took one out of the freezer and let it stand at room temp for about 15 minutes. Then I tasted it. Wow! So much better than when freshly baked. I think they need to set to allow the icing to really set up and solidify. These were so good, I could have easily eaten 10 of them. Thanks so much for a wonderful recipe.
Judy, I agree - I thought these were much better the second and third days. I didn’t freeze any, but I imagine the freezer does the same thing. Somehow, the cookie softens a bit, the icing sets a bit more… they just mellow with age, I guess (don’t we all!) - PJH
June 27th, 2008 at 7:47 am
I tried this recipe out. They were good the first day, but much better on days 2 and 3. That icing is definetly the key here. I like the puffy cookie base too - I’m going to use that for a few other recipes I have in mind. I wrote a post about it on my blog if you want to check out my results. Thanks for taking the time to post this recipe, it’s great and they disappeared quickly. BTW, did Michael come up with a ‘fudgy’ recipe to top these cookies with?