Baltimore’s Famous Berger Cookies Copycat Recipe

With this copycat recipe, you can now have Berger Cookies from your own kitchen in any city. A soft vanilla cookie, topped with a thick fudge-like frosting has long been a cultural icon of Baltimore.  

Unless you have some kind of super-human willpower, you’re going to find these cake-like cookies hard to resist.  Not only is the soft shortbread cookie melt in your mouth tender but then you have the fudge-like frosting……….and yes, the frosting is supposed to be as thick as the cookie.  The cookie and frosting share the spotlight in Baltimore’s famous cookies!

Now, I’ve never been to Baltimore, but I recently found out they have been hiding an oh-so-decadent little secret there for generations; Berger Cookies.   

What Are Berger Cookies?

The Berger cookie’s claim to fame is a thick little soft cookie topped with a generous helping of super sweet chocolate fudge.   If you are a cookie lover who also adores fudge you are going to fall in love with the sheer girth of this fudge like frosting that commands attention!

Don’t live in or near Baltimore? No worry, thanks to the team at King Arthur Flour you can find them in your own kitchen!  They say they have come up with a Copycat Berger Cookie Recipe that is VERY close to the original.

“While the fudge icing for these cookies is missing the original Berger cookies’ signature taste (think Hostess cupcake icing), we feel its consistency is identical, and its deep chocolate flavor perfect with its vanilla cookie base.”  ~King Arthur Flour

The Best Way To Frost Berger Cookies

We took some video with my phone while we were frosting these Berger cookies, so I made a little video to show you how we did it.

Grab An Apron…..we’re going to make Berger Cookies

Baltimore's Famous Berger Cookies Copycat Recipe

Yield: 28-30 2.5-inch cookies
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Additional Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes

A soft vanilla cookie, topped with a thick fudge-like frosting has long been a cultural icon of Baltimore.

Ingredients

For Cookies

• 1/3 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup milk

For Frosting

• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¾ cup heavy cream
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Instructions

To Make Cookies

1. Heat oven to 400°F and line baking sheet with parchment paper
2. In a large bowl, beat butter, salt, vanilla, and baking powder until well combined. Add sugar then egg and continue beating.
3. Slowly add 1/3 of the flour then 1/2 the milk. Gently beating continue adding remaining flour, and milk alternating just until combined. Do not over beat.
4. Drop tablespoon size dollops of cookie dough on prepared pan, leaving about 3 inches between each cookie. Flatten each cookie with a greased or wet bottom of a glass, yielding a circle about 1-1/2 inches across.
5. Bake for 10-12 minutes until slightly brown on bottom (no color change on top of cookie). Do not over bake, these are soft cookies. Remove from oven, cool for 5 minutes on pan, then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.

To make frosting Place chocolate chips, corn syrup, vanilla and cream in large microwave-safe bowl. Heat mixture on high for 1 minute, stir and cook on high for another 30 seconds. Stir until well combined. This may take a bit, but as you continue to stir it will eventually all come together into a creamy chocolate ganache mixture. Add powdered sugar and beat with electric mixer on high until thick frosting consistency. Set aside to cool to warm room temperature. To assemble

1. Working quickly dip the flat bottom of cooled cookies into frosting (your hands are going to get messy here). Make sure to give the cookie a good coating of frosting and set on parchment paper, frosting side up. After all cookies have been dipped, spread remaining frosting evenly atop the cookies. The frosting should be as thick as the cookie. Allow to set (we thought they were best after setting several hours)
2. Store in a single layer in an airtight container.

Have you ever had an original Berger Cookie?