Berger Cookies are a kind of cookie made and distributed by DeBaufre Bakeries. They are topped with a thick layer of chocolate fudge that derives from a German recipe, and are a cultural icon of Baltimore.
History
The Berger Cookie recipe was brought to America from Germany by George and Henry Berger in 1835. Henry owned a bakery in East Baltimore that was later run by his son Henry. While the younger Henry took over his father's bakery, his two brothers, George and Otto, opened their own bakeries. Around 1900 Otto died, then George and Henry combined the bakeries to create 'Bergers'. As technology grew so did the bakery. Eventually Henry died, leaving George as the sole proprietor of the bakery. When George retired he sold the bakery and the recipe to Charles E. Russell. Charles' son, Charles Jr., took control upon his father's retirement. Charles Jr. and his sons, Charles III and Dennis, ran the business through the Depression. They employed two brothers, Charles and Benjamin DeBaufre. When Charles Jr. retired in 1967, he left the bakery to Charles III and Dennis. Meanwhile, the DeBaufre brothers left the business to start DeBaufre Bakeries Inc. The DeBaufre Bakery struggled in the first few years but they pushed through it. DeBaufre Bakeries was able to earn enough of a profit to purchase Berger's from the Russell family in 1969. Charles' son, Charles DeBaufre Jr., purchased part of the business in 1978. Charles Sr. died in 1988 leaving ownership to Benjamin, Charles Jr., and John Koehler. Charles Jr. became the sole proprietor of Berger Cookies in 1994 when Benjamin retired and is still running the successful business in 2019.
Production and sales
The Berger cookie is well known for its thick chocolate frosting layered on top of a shortbread cookie. The recipe has won several awards around the Baltimore area including the 2011 "Best of Baltimore Award" and the "Best Cookie" award in 2011. The product has also been featured in The Baltimore Sun, The View, and on Rachael Ray and The Best Thing I Ever Ate on the Food Network. Berger Cookies are handmade in a small factory in the Cherry Hill neighborhood of Baltimore. As of 2013, four employees dipped a total of around 36,000 cookies every day. The original recipe that was created by Henry Berger in 1835 is still in use. As of early 2012, the annual sales of DeBaufre Bakeries were about $2.5 million, with Berger Cookies making up 98% of that. In February 2012, the company began a limited run of three flavors, strawberry, lemon and rum, that it had last made in 1972, in response to slower sales in January. However, that was just a special edition and was not meant to be something that lasted longer than the week that DeBaufre Bakery sold them for. The Health Department closed the bakery in January 2013 because it was operating without the proper license. The bakery does have a federal food license, according to the FDA, and officials there have an ongoing investigation stemming from a routine inspection in January. A spokesman declined to comment on what the investigators have found. Records show the FDA, which does not communicate about its findings with the city, inspected the bakery at least once before, in 2011, and found no serious violations. The bakery has since obtained the proper licenses needed and resumed production March 5, 2013. In November 2013 owner and president Charles DeBaufre, Jr. said that the FDA's proposed ban on trans fat could change how Berger Cookies taste because two key ingredients, margarine and fudge, contain partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oil, a source of trans fat. He said attempts to produce the cookies without trans fat have produced discouraging results. He further said that without an FDA exception allowing them to use trans fat, the bakery would continue to test out new recipes or "go out of business, one of the two." However, in November 2017The Baltimore Sun reported that DeBaufre's fudge supplier had already changed the recipe and eliminated trans fats over the previous summer, with no apparent impact on the taste but an increase in calories due to additional sweeteners.
